Cholera continues to spread in Syria, death toll close to 100

By Mohamed Mesto

ISTANBUL (AA) - Cholera continues to spread in Syria after three months after the first infection, where the death toll reached 96 cases throughout the country.

According to the Support Coordination Unit (ACU), the death toll from cholera in areas outside the regime's control reached 47 as of Dec. 11, 30 of them in northeastern Syria and 17 others in the north and northwest of the country.

The regime's Ministry of Health announced that the number of confirmed infections in its areas reached 1,609, with 49 deaths, as of Dec. 11.

Dr. Adnan Talib, a response coordinator in the Early Warning and Epidemic Response Network, told Anadolu Agency that there are 22,763 suspected cases in the north and northwest of the country, 484 of which are confirmed by laboratory analysis.

Talib pointed out that 26 percent of cholera cases are in the camps, most of which are in the Atma camps in the northern countryside of Idlib.

He confirmed that they are working to combat the disease in cooperation with the International Working Group to Reduce Cholera and in coordination with the World Health Organization.

There are eight centers to treat the disease in north and northwest Syria, says Talib.

In late November, the Syrian regime received two million doses of cholera vaccines from the UN and began the vaccination process in its areas, while vaccines from the UN have not yet reached areas outside the regime's control.

Cholera attacks children and adults in a weak state of health. It spreads without detection as many carriers do not show symptoms for some time.

*Ikram Imane Kouachi contributed to this report