The epidemic has reached the capital and is currently present in all eight governorates. At least 600,000 doses of the vaccine are needed for the most exposed groups, but so far only 13,000 have arrived. The emergency is aggravated by a collapsed health system and political and institutional stagnation. From Syria to Afghanistan, it is a problem that involves the entire region.
Beirut () – Lebanon has received the first batch of vaccines against cholera, to deal with an epidemic that has already spread throughout the country and which, according to experts from the World Health Organization (WHO), has reached alarming levels, highlighting the serious limitations of the public health system. The latest count as of October 31 speaks of 1,447 cases and 17 confirmed victims, but the figures will continue to increase in the coming days. The first case of the disease, which is transmitted through contaminated water, sewage and food, was recorded a month ago and has now reached Beirut.
The country of the cedars had eliminated cholera in 1993, but the progressive impoverishment caused by the economic crisis and the general worsening of public health, to which is added the political stagnation derived from the inability to overcome the conflicting interests in the class government and institutions, reopened the doors to the disease. Now it has reached the capital, but the main focus is still the city of Bebnine, in the north, where the first cases occurred and the health authorities have set up an emergency hospital.
There are laboratory-confirmed cases in all eight governorates and in 18 districts (out of a total of 26). Abdinasir Abubakar, a doctor and WHO representative in the country, explains that “cholera is deadly, but it can be prevented with vaccinations and with adequate sanitation and drinking water. The most serious cases -he adds- can be easily treated with the appropriate antibiotics and adequate rehydration” of the organism. However, “the situation in Lebanon remains fragile, because the country is already struggling with other crises, aggravated – he concludes – by the prolonged political and economic deterioration”.
In a context of serious difficulties, world experts sound the alarm and multiply their efforts together with the local Ministry of Health and NGOs in the sector to extinguish the outbreaks and limit the spread of the disease. The main weapon remains vaccines, despite widespread shortages on a global scale. The goal is to reach at least 600,000 doses for the highest risk categories, which include health workers on the front line of the fight against the disease, prisoners, refugees who are in centers distributed throughout the country and the communities that host them.
“Vaccines – confirms the Minister of Health Firass Abiad – play a fundamental role in limiting the spread”. At a joint press conference, the French ambassador to Lebanon, Anne Grillo, announced the first batch of 13,000 doses, but many more are still needed. “And the origins of this epidemic must also be carefully addressed -explained the diplomat- in which public health is at stake”.
Meanwhile, testimonies of pain and suffering come from the affected areas, especially in the Bebnine field hospital. Nearby there is also a refugee camp where Syrian children play in the midst of garbage scattered everywhere and sewage, in a kind of dump (or latrine) in the open air. The alarm is already on a global scale, given that WHO experts consider that the reappearance of cholera in Lebanon is associated with the epidemic in neighboring Syria, where it had spread from Afghanistan (primary source) through Iran and Iraq.
