Yemen Cholera Outbreak: Death Toll Hits 1,146, WHO Says
Local Editor
The death toll from a cholera outbreak in Yemen hit 1,146 over the past two months, World Health Organization reported.
The UN health agency said the outbreak affected 20 of Yemen's 22 provinces since it was first reported at the end of April.
Cholera, which is contracted through contaminated water and causes severe diarrhea and vomiting, is easily treatable and preventable.
Yet, the outbreak comes at a time when more than half of Yemen's healthcare facilities are no longer functional because of the ongoing Saudi war on the impoverished nation.
The disease can kill within hours if left untreated. In the last week alone, at least 187 deaths were reported from cholera, in addition to almost 38,000 suspected cases.
There are 166,976 suspected cases since April 27, WHO said on Twitter on Monday.
The UN estimates that some 7.6 million people live in Yemen's cholera-threatened areas.
Yemenis have been suffering from a significant lack of access to food, clean water, as well as medication that have resulted in the spread of cholera.
According to UN officials, more than 10,000 people have been killed in the Yemen war, while more than 11 percent of the country's population has been displaced as a direct result of the conflict.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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