Local Editor
Up to now, 209 people have died in Yemen as a result of a cholera outbreak in the country, while 17,200 were categorized as suspected cases, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), said Wednesday.
"To date, over 17,200 suspected cases of cholera have been reported across Yemen, including 209 associated deaths," the UN agency said on Twitter.
The sharp increase comes just one day after the agency stated 186 people had died from the disease.
UNICEF's Yemen mission said that there had been an "alarming increase" in cholera-related deaths.
Yemen spokesperson for UNICEF, Mohammed Al-Asaadi, told AFP that 3,000 new suspected cholera cases a day were being reported.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said Monday that 184 people had died of the disease since April 27, with 11,000 suspected cases across the country.
Cholera is a highly contagious bacterial infection spread through contaminated food or water.
The UN has warned that two-thirds of the population is on the brink of famine.
The World Health Organization (WHO) now classifies Yemen as one of the worst humanitarian emergencies in the world alongside Syria, South Sudan, Nigeria and Iraq.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
