Situation in Yemen Continue to be “Out of Control”, with About 7,000 New Cases Everyday: ICRC

YemenExtra

Y.A

A cholera outbreak in war-torn Yemen is thought to have infected 300,000 people during the past 10 weeks, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported.

More than 1,700 associated deaths have been reported, the UN says.

Yemen’s health, water and sanitation systems are collapsing due to two years of conflict between fugitive pro-government forces and the so called Houthi movement.

Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholera.

Most of those infected will have no or mild symptoms ,but, in severe cases, the disease can kill within hours if left untreated.

On 24 June, the World Health Organisation announced that Yemen was facing “the worst cholera outbreak in the world”, with more than 200,000 suspected cases.

In just more than two weeks, another 100,000 people have been infected – an increase the ICRC’s Middle East regional director Roberto Mardini called “disturbing”.

The WHO said on Saturday that 297,438 cases had been recorded, but the agency was still analysing the latest figures from the Yemeni health ministry on Monday.

The outbreak has affected all but one of Yemen’s 23 provinces. The four most affected provinces – Sanaa, Hudaydah, Hajja and Amran – have reported almost half of the cases.

UN agencies say the outbreak is  the civil war’s direct consequence, with 14.5 million people cut off from regular access to clean water and sanitation.

Source :Website