WHO warns risk of cholera spread ‘very high’ in Lebanon

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) - The World Health Organization (WHO) representative in Lebanon on Wednesday warned that the risk of cholera spread is "very high" in Lebanon due to new displacements.

Abdul Nasir Abubakar's remarks came after Lebanon's Health Ministry confirmed the first cholera case in northern Lebanon, where Israel continues its air and ground attacks despite international outcry and calls for a cease-fire.

Abubakar told a briefing in Geneva that the confirmed case was reported in an area where the population was not been vaccinated.

With the arrival of people who were displaced by the conflict to the north, he said the risk of transmission is "very high" as those people from the south of Beirut had no cholera immunity for the last decades.

He said the WHO is working closely with the Health Ministry and other partners to scale up the water and sanitation in the high-risk areas.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the same briefing that the agency has activated the cholera preparedness and response plan to strengthen surveillance and contact tracing, including environmental surveillance and water sampling in the country.

Tedros stressed that an oral cholera vaccination campaign targeting 350,000 people living in high-risk areas had been launched by the Health Ministry. However, he lamented that the escalation in violence interrupted the campaign.

He said since the escalation of hostilities, the WHO has verified 23 attacks on health care that have led to 72 deaths and 43 injuries among health workers and patients in Lebanon.