HANOI, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Laos' government has urged all provinces to prevent an outbreak of cholera similar to the one in southern Xekong province last month, which has so far killed three people and affected 364 others, Lao newspaper Vientiane Times reported Thursday.

    The government called on authorities at provincial, district and communal levels to continue raising public awareness about cholera prevention and treatment, and conduct activities to ensure that neighborhoods are clean and instruct local residents to eat properly cooked food, drink boiled water and wash their hands before eating.

    The government also required the Ministry of Health to give regular advice to local authorities so that they would be in a position to cope with an outbreak, and urged media to launch an information campaign to ensure communities have a clear perception of what is happening.

    "All 364 people who were infected with cholera have now returned home," said Phetsamay Thepvongsa, a senior official from the Xekong Health Department.

    While cholera outbreaks in Xekong have been under control, the two southern provinces of Champassak and Saravan have recently reported nine and 30 cases of cholera infections, respectively, the newspaper said.