Yemeni men suspected of being infected with cholers receives treatment at a makeshift hospital in Sana'a on July 13, 2017
Suspected cholera cases strike 1 million in Yemen, Red Cross says
152
Share
YemenExtra
Y.A
The number of suspected cholera cases in Yemen has hit 1 million, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Thursday, as war has left more than 80 percent of the population short of food, fuel, clean water and access to healthcare.
The United Nations says it is suffering the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. The World Health Organization has recorded 2,219 deaths since the cholera epidemic began in April, with children accounting for nearly a third of infections.
Cholera, spread by food or water contaminated with human faeces, causes acute diarrhoea and dehydration and can kill within hours if untreated. Yemen’s health system has virtually collapsed, with most health workers unpaid for months.
On Dec 3, the WHO said another wave of cholera could strike within months after the Saudi-led coalition closed air, land and sea access, cutting off fuel for hospitals and water pumps and aid supplies for starving children.
