Lebanon has recorded its first case of cholera since 1993, reports have emerged.
It said that the case was recorded on 5 October, in the rural northern region of Akkar and that the patient was receiving treatment and in stable condition.
This is likely the result of a serious outbreak in neighbouring Syria crossing the porous border between the countries, caretaker Health Minister Firas Abiad said in an interview on Thursday.
“The first case of cholera was recorded on October 5, in Lebanon, in Akkar Governorate.”
“The patient’s condition is stable and he is receiving treatment in the hospital.”
It should be noted that this is the first case in Lebanon since 1993 (another date of cholera outbreak).
Syria has recorded 39 deaths from cholera and nearly 600 cases in an outbreak spreading in the war-ravaged country that the United Nations warned is “evolving alarmingly”.
A total of 594 cases have been recorded across 11 of its 14 provinces since late last month, the health ministry said on Tuesday.
“The situation is evolving alarmingly in affected governorates and expanding to new areas,” the World Health Organisation warned Tuesday.
Most of those who have died are in the northern province of Aleppo, and it was not immediately clear if the dead were included in the overall case tally.
It is the first major outbreak of cholera in Syria in over a decade.
The extremely virulent disease is generally contracted from contaminated food or water, and causes diarrhoea and vomiting.
It can spread in residential areas that lack proper sewerage networks or mains drinking water.
The Minister of Health in the Business Management Government, Dr. Fras Al-Bayd, held a coordinating meeting with the stakeholders concerned by representatives of international organizations, the Medical Unions, the Nursing Unions and the Lebanese Association for Bacterial Diseases, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Energy and Water and the CO Management Unit Legacy in cabinet and the Red cross.
Reuters