After the war, the UN warns of a cholera epidemic in Syria

THE outbreak of cholera in many areas of Syria poses a “serious risk to the Syrian population and the region”, the UN Representative in Syria for the Coordination of Humanitarian Operations Imran Riza said in a statement, calling for urgent action to limit the spread of the disease .

The occurrence of cholera outbreaks is believed to be linked to the irrigation of crops with contaminated water and the consumption of dangerous water from the Euphrates River, explains the UN representative.

The destruction of Syria’s water infrastructure after 11 years of war means that much of the Syrian population depends on unsafe water resources.

Richard Brennan, the World Health Organization’s Regional Director of Emergencies for the Eastern Mediterranean region, said that since August 25, the organization has recorded 8 deaths from cholera: 6 in the Aleppo region and 2 in Deir Ezzor province.

The appearance of cholera is centered on area of ​​Aleppo, where more than 70% of the total 936 suspected cases have been recorded, and Deir Ezzor region, with 20% of the cases. A smaller number of cases have been reported in the regions of Raqqa, al-Hasakah, Hama and Lattakia.

The number of confirmed cases is 20 in Aleppo, 4 in Lattakia and 2 in Damascus.

Before the recent cholera outbreak, the water crisis in Syria had caused diseases such as diarrhea, malnutrition and skin diseases in the region, according to the World Health Organization.

Richard Brennan said the World Health Organization is appealing to donors to increase funding to deal with cholera outbreaks in parts of the Middle East, including Pakistan where flooding has worsened a pre-existing condition.

RES-EMP

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