A woman carries her child as she drinks from a cup at a makeshift clinic at the Lake Tanganyika stadium, Kigoma, Tanzania, May 19, 2015, REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/Files

NAIROBI: An outbreak of cholera in Tanzania has left 18 dead in two months, the health ministry said Saturday, warning the situation could worsen as the rainy season continues.

The ministry said the outbreak had left "18 dead out of 570 cases recorded" between September 1 and October 30, and urged local authorities to take measures to avoid the disease from spreading.

In 2015, Tanzania was struck by a major outbreak of cholera, which infected some 10,000 people and left 150 dead.

Cholera is transmitted through contaminated drinking water and causes acute diarrhoea.