Syria raises to about 30 deaths from cholera outbreak

Sep. 26 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Syrian authorities on Monday raised the death toll from the recently declared cholera outbreak in the country to about 30, which has also left around 340 cases.

The Syrian Ministry of Health has detailed that so far 338 infections have been confirmed, with 29 deaths, and has highlighted that the province of Aleppo (north) is the most affected, with 230 cases.

Behind are Deir Ezzor, with 55; Hasaka, with 25; Latakia, with 19; Homs, with five; and the capital, Damascus, with four cases. As for the deceased, Aleppo has registered 25 deaths, according to the Syrian state news agency, SANA.

The director of Infectious and Chronic Diseases of the Ministry of Health, Zuhair al Sahui, has stressed the importance of patients seeking medical attention as soon as they suspect that they could be infected and has added that the majority of deaths can be attributed to a delay in time to go to the hospital.

The Syrian Minister of Health, Hassan al Ghabash, stated on September 18 that the government had the outbreak under control, at a time when seven deaths had been reported and after the United Nations had expressed its alarm over the spread of the disease. .

In this sense, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Syria, Imran Riza, had expressed his “great concern” about the cholera outbreak and stressed that it is a sign of the scarcity of water in the country due to a decrease in the Euphrates River, drought-like conditions in some areas and the destruction of infrastructure due to the conflict that broke out in 2011.

Finally, he warned that the outbreak poses “a serious threat” to the Syrian population and the region and asked donor countries for urgent funding to contain the outbreak and prevent its spread, as well as “sustained and unrestricted” access to affected communities.