This is a new consequence of the drought in the Middle East, Syria fears a return of cholera. The World Health Organization warned on Tuesday September 13 of the very high risk of the disease spreading. The neighboring country, Iraq, has already been affected by cholera since the beginning of the summer.
In Syria, the most affected provinces are Aleppo in the north and Raqqa and Deir Ezzor in the northeast, under Kurdish control. In Deir Eizzor, the disease is said to have spread through contaminated drinking water, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Authorities reportedly stopped distributing chlorine to pumping stations three months ago.
A total of five deaths and dozens of cases have already been recorded. The disease had not circulated in the country since 2009.
Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection that causes sometimes fatal dehydration. It is transmitted through water or food.
A real regional threat
Already a victim of drought caused by climate change and changes in the course of the Euphrates, after eleven years of war, Syria suffers from a serious shortage of drinking water. Prior to 2010, 98% of city dwellers and 92% of rural community dwellers had a safe access to clean water. But the conflict has damaged around two-thirds of water treatment plants, half of pumping stations and a third of water towers, according to a UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report from ‘april.
On Monday, the UN urged donor countries to urgently provide additional funds to fight the outbreak. “ This is a serious threat to Syria and the region said the UN coordinator in Syria, Imran Riza.
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Neighboring Iraq has also announced that it is facing a cholera epidemic as early as last June. The identification of the virus requires extensive analysis but thousands of hospitalizations for acute diarrhea have been recorded in the country and at least 1,000 cases and 5 recognized deaths.
It is estimated that there are between 1.3 million and 4 million cases of cholera worldwide each year, causing between 21,000 and 143,000 deaths.