According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the dangerous diarrheal disease cholera is spreading in Lebanon. At the beginning of October, the Ministry of Health reported the first cases after almost three decades, but now all parts of the country are affected, with more than 1400 suspected cases, the WHO reported on Tuesday in Geneva. 381 were confirmed in the laboratory, 17 people died.
The disease was probably brought in from Syria, where there are now around 20,000 suspected cases across the country, said WHO regional emergency director Rick Brennan.
Cholera can cause kidney failure or death due to significant fluid loss, but is easily treatable with medication.
The WHO is deeply concerned because the number of cholera outbreaks worldwide has risen sharply this year. She attributes this to floods, droughts, conflicts, population movements and other factors. As a result, many people have no access to clean water and the risk of cholera outbreaks is increasing. Because the vaccine is scarce, she changed the recommended vaccination regimen in October: instead of two doses, only one dose should be administered for the time being, which offers sufficient protection in the short term.
The WHO supports Lebanon with medical personnel and material as well as laboratory capacities. She conducts training courses in clinics and hospitals so that employees can treat cholera cases properly. The situation is made more difficult because the country has already been hit hard by other crises, including a severe economic and political crisis, according to the WHO. Hospitals sometimes have hardly any electricity. Many people have little access to clean drinking water and sanitation is impaired. The WHO, together with the government, is trying to get 600,000 doses of vaccine to protect those who are particularly vulnerable.
WHO on cholera in general
