Slums in danger – Great fear in Lebanon: cholera is spreading

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The fear of cholera is on the rise in Lebanon. On Monday, 18 cases were confirmed, L’Orient le Jour newspaper reported Tuesday, citing the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Lebanese Ministry of Health. About 40 more suspected cases and one death are under investigation, Kathpress quoted from the article. The sick are Syrian refugees in the border area in the north of the country and in the Bekaa Valley.

The disease caused by the Vibrio cholerae bacteria may be asymptomatic or manifest as extreme diarrhea and vomiting. It is usually transmitted through contaminated drinking water and food. According to the WHO, there is a close link between cholera transmission and insufficient access to clean drinking water and sanitation. That is why refugee camps and slums are particularly vulnerable places.

Could further burden the health system
In Lebanon, there is “a high risk of cholera spreading,” especially in the border areas with Syria, Alissar Rady, chief of the technical team at the WHO’s regional office for Lebanon, said according to the report. This could put even more strain on the health system, already ravaged by the country’s ongoing crisis and the Covid 19 pandemic. In addition, due to the lack of restrictions on antibiotic use in Lebanon, “there is a high risk of the bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics”.

Already spread over most of Syria
Cholera has already spread across most of Syria, affecting 13 of the country’s 14 governorates, according to the European Commission’s Emergency Response Coordination Center (ERCC) on Monday. About 13,000 suspected cases and 60 deaths have been reported so far. The number of unreported cases is likely to be much higher due to “limited testing capabilities and a largely dysfunctional health system”. At the end of September, the WHO published a plan to fight cholera in Syria worth 36 million euros.

Source: Krone

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