Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has said there is no cholera in his country - as the United Nations warned the deadly epidemic was getting worse. He also claimed Western powers were plotting to use cholera as an excuse to invade Zimbabwe and overthrow him. "Now that there is no cholera there is no cause for war," Mr Mugabe said. He spoke as a district in neighbouring South Africa was declared a disaster area because of the spreading disease, which has killed hundreds in Zimbabwe. In a nationally televised speech, Mr Mugabe said: "I am happy to say our doctors are being assisted by others and the WHO [World Health Organization] and they have now arrested cholera." He went on to denounce former colonial power Britain, as well as French President Nicolas Sarkozy and US President George W Bush, who both called earlier this week for the 84-year-old to quit. "Because of cholera, Mr Brown, Mr Sarkozy and Mr Bush want military intervention," Mr Mugabe said. He added: "Let's tell them that the cholera cause doesn't exist anymore." He spoke out in the capital, Harare, at a state funeral for senior ruling party official Elliot Manyika, who died in a car crash over the weekend. Shortly after Mr Mugabe spoke, the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the toll from the disease had risen slightly overnight to 783 and that 16,403 were believed to have been infected. The WHO has warned that the total number of cases could reach 60,000 unless the epidemic was stopped. Hundreds of Zimbabweans have crossed the border to seek medical treatment because Zimbabwe's health service and water supply infrastructure have virtually collapsed. Source: BBC