Local Editor
Nearly 23,500 suspected cases of cholera have been registered in war-ravaged Yemen in the past three weeks, including 242 deaths, the World Health Organization said on Friday.
"The speed of the resurgence of this cholera epidemic is unprecedented," WHO country representative for Yemen Nevio Zagaria told reporters in a conference call, warning that there could be as many as 250,000 cases in the country within six months.
"We need to expect something that could go up to 200,000-250,000 cases over the next six months, in addition to the 50,000 cases that have already occurred," he said.
"You can understand that with this number the price that we will pay in terms of lives will be extremely, extremely high."
On Monday, the International Committee of the Red Cross had said cholera outbreak had killed 180 people since April 27, hours after the health ministry said 115 had died from the disease in the capital Sana’a. ICRC's Dominik Stillhart had told reporters in the Yemeni city of Aden there were 11,000 more suspected cholera cases across the war-torn country.
Cholera is normally contracted by consumption of water and food contaminated by human feces. It leads to massive dehydrating diarrhea attacks along with vomiting and cramps which if not quickly healed can kill a person in a few days.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
