Authorities in rebel-held Yemen capital rush to stem cholera outbreak
Authorities in rebel-held Yemen capital rush to stem cholera outbreak
Authorities are sterilising water supplies at wells, distribution networks and houses to help stem the world's worst outbreak of cholera.
2 min read
The move came after cases of the disease were reported [AFP]
Authorities in the rebel-held Yemen capital began to sterilise water supplies at water reservoirs, distribution networks and houses in attempt to curb a cholera outbreak, Reuters reported on Monday.
The move came after cases of the disease were reported, the Houthi's minister of water in Sanaa, Nabeel Abdullah al-Wazeer, told Reuters.
"We receive information of reported cases of cholera from the Ministry of Health, then the team sterilises the house and 20 houses around it," al-Wazeer said.
"We worked from house to house and on sterilising water wells," he added. "We also worked on bus-mounted tanks, which transport water in the private sector to the citizens, as well as sterilizing local institutions which distribute water."
More than 2,500 people have died of the waterborne infection since the worst cholera outbreak in Yemen's history began in April 2017, while nearly one million more suspected cases have been reported across the country.
Children under the age of five make up nearly a third of all suspected cases.
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned in October of a new escalation.
"We have been seeing the number of cholera cases increasing in Yemen since June, and this increase has been even more important in the last three weeks," WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said.
During the first eight months of the year, Yemen registered nearly 155,000 suspected cholera cases, including 197 deaths.
But in the last week of August alone, 9,425 suspected cholera cases were recorded across the country, and just a week later, the number of suspected cases recorded soared to 11,478, WHO said.
WHO has warned Yemen faces a third cholera epidemic as autumn rains have increased the risk of infection after already being hit by two major cholera outbreaks in less than two years.
Cholera, which causes potentially deadly diarrhoea, is contracted by ingesting food or water contaminated with a bacterium carried in human faeces and spread through poor sanitation and dirty drinking water.
Left untreated, it can kill within hours.
Yemen's brutal conflict, which since 2015 has left some 10,000 people dead and 14 million on the brink of famine, has created the perfect environment for cholera to thrive.
Agencies contributed to this report.
More In News
