ALBAWABA - Lebanon has recorded its first death from cholera as the country's Health Ministry battles the disease that seems to be tipping from the country's borders with Syria.
#Lebanon recorded its first death from #cholera yesterday, while the number of cases rose to 26, distributed among six geographically distant villages and towns in #Akkar, in addition to #Arsal in the #Bekaa, where the number of cases has now reached seven.
— Megaphone (@megaphone_news) October 13, 2022
./1 https://t.co/xlMXrXmcQn
Many are worried this could become a public health crisis. Lebanon has recorded 26 cases of cholera this month, as the country struggles amid poor sanitation and crumbling infrastructure after three years of unprecedented economic crisis it is being reported.
"The common point between these cases is that the majority of patients are displaced Syrians," Health Minister Firas Abiad said on Tuesday as quoted by AFP.
First cholera death in Lebanon as outbreak spreads from Syria https://t.co/AhDEHI40Ok #Naharnet #Lebanon
— EyeonLebanon (@EyeonLebanon) October 13, 2022
Many are reporting on the disease that was first registered in Syria in late August and early September. Media reports suggest the #UN is documenting 13,000 #cholera cases in #Syria, but fear that millions could be risk.
Lebanon reports first cholera death in new outbreak https://t.co/8TCdioBLju
— Shehzad Younis (@shehzadyounis) October 13, 2022
Cholera can kill within hours if left untreated, according to the World Health Organization, but many of those infected will have no or mild symptoms. It can be easily treated with oral rehydration solution, but more severe cases may require intravenous fluids and antibiotics, the WHO says. Worldwide, the disease affects between 1.3 million and four million people each year, killing between 21,000 and 143,000 people the French news agency reports.
