Syrian authorities have raised to more than 1,600 the number of cholera cases detected since the declaration of an outbreak in September, with its epicenter in the northern province of Aleppo, although it is feared that the figure could be much higher.
The Syrian Ministry of Health said that 1,609 cases have been confirmed so far, with 49 deaths. A total of 987 cases have been detected in Aleppo, the most affected province, as reported by the Syrian state news agency SANA.
Behind are Deir Ezzor, with 233; Latakia, with 97; Hasakah, with 90; Raqqa, with 54; Hama, with 38; Homs, with 28; Sueida, with 26; Damascus, with 20; Damascus countryside, with 17; Tartous, with ten; Daraa, with five; and Quneitra, with four.
In the case of the dead a total of 40 have been recorded in Aleppo, while Hasaka has confirmed four dead, for the two in Deir Ezzor and one each in Homs, Hama and Damascus.
Syrian authorities launched a vaccination campaign last week after receiving two million doses of the vaccine. The campaign has among its main targets vulnerable populations in the provinces most affected by the outbreak: Aleppo, Deir Ezzor, Hasakah and Raqqa.
The World Health Organization (WHO) representative in Syria, Iman Shankiti, said before the launch of the campaign that «cholera is a public health threat that affects the health of populations and entails substantial costs to public health systems.»
Cholera is an acute diarrheal disease caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the ‘vibrio cholerae bacillus’, as highlighted by WHO on its website, where it stresses that «cholera remains a global threat to public health and an indicator of inequity and lack of social development».
