Lack of medical care in Syria and poor water quality exacerbate cholera outbreak

Poor access to safe water has exacerbated the cholera outbreak raging in the war-torn provinces of Syria, where local authorities are struggling to contain the spread with chlorine tablets and vaccines.

More than 35,000 cases of suspected cholera across the country, according to the United Nations children’s agency. UNICEF said only about 2,500 people had been tested, of which nearly half tested positive.

“Finding even one case of cholera means you have an outbreak,” said Zuhair al-Sahwi, head of the infectious and chronic diseases department of the Syrian health ministry.

He said the curve has largely flattened, with the number of confirmed new cases slowing daily.

$200 million will be spent on 408 clean drinking water projects for Kentuckians.

Sahvi said the ministry had recorded 46 deaths as a result of delays in accessing medical care and had requested cholera vaccines from the World Health Organization.

The cases in Syria are linked to a violent outbreak that began in Afghanistan in June and then spread to Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, according to the WHO.

Cholera usually spreads through contaminated water, food or sewage. It can cause severe diarrhea and dehydration, which can be fatal if left untreated.

Syria’s water and pumping stations have been ravaged by more than a decade of war, and a drought this year has left its main river, the Euphrates, particularly low.

Nabbu al-Awwa, an ophthalmologist in Damascus, said the spread of the infection was facilitated by the dumping of solid waste into stagnant waters.

Syria's poor water supply and lack of medical care exacerbate the cholera outbreak in the country's provinces.  Pictured, nurses monitor cholera patients in the cholera ward of the Al-Rahma hospital in Darkush city.

Syria’s poor water supply and lack of medical care exacerbate the cholera outbreak in the country’s provinces. Pictured, nurses monitor cholera patients in the cholera ward of the Al-Rahma hospital in Darkush city.
(Anas Alkharbutli/alliance photo via Getty Images)

“If the river flows, everything is all right. But when the water level dropped due to rising temperatures in many parts of the world, these bacteria began to multiply and spread,” Avva told Reuters.

As farmers rely on untreated river water, vegetables quickly became infected and the virus spread to cities, he said.

Shops and restaurants in the capital have changed their menus to protect their customers.

“We stopped using leafy greens for public health,” said Maher, owner of a falafel shop in Damascus.

The capital remains relatively protected, with the largest number of cases reported in the vast desert province of Deir ez-Zor to the east, and Raqqa and Aleppo to the north, which depend most on the Euphrates, according to the WHO.

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United Nations agencies mainly delivering water to affected communities and distributing sterilization pills.

But to continue its efforts, the UN Children’s Agency says it still needs about $9 million to get it through the end of the year.