Authorities in the Dominican Republic are checking the water in a city in the south of the Caribbean country after a sharp rise in cholera in recent days.

The director of the Ministry of Health's water department says has sickened at least 93 people in the past week in San Cristobal. None of the cases has been fatal.

Jose Joaquin Nunez says inspectors have fanned out to check distributors of water and water purifiers. Most Dominicans drink bottled or purified water because isn't considered safe.

Cholera has sickened about 30,000 people and killed 454 in the Dominican Republic since November 2010. In neighboring Haiti, it has infected more than 700,000 people and caused 8,000 deaths since October 2010.