Syria received two million doses of cholera vaccines to fight the epidemic

Syria has received two million doses of cholera vaccines, which is the first delivery since it was hit by the epidemic of this infectious disease in September, the Ministry of Health in Damascus announced today, adding that it was provided by UNICEF and the international organization Gavi.

Cholera has ravaged this long-term war-affected country, so it is having a hard time fighting the epidemic due to the destroyed health and drinking water distribution system.

According to the data of the Ministry, since September, 1.556 people have fallen ill with cholera in Syria and 49 have died.

Both the Ministry and the United Nations believe that the epidemic originated from people drinking impure water from the Euphrates River and using the contaminated water to irrigate crops, resulting in food contamination.

As it was announced from Damascus, the vaccination will start in December, will last two weeks and will be carried out in the areas most affected by cholera, which are the surroundings of the city of Aleppo, Deir Ezzor, Hasakah and Raqqa.

There is a worldwide shortage of cholera vaccine, as several countries are simultaneously affected by epidemics due to wars, poverty and climate change.

Because of this, in October, the World Health Organization announced the temporary suspension of the two-dose vaccination, so now only one dose is given.

The epidemic that started in Syria has spread across the front lines and borders, so it has entered Lebanon and Iraq, and those neighboring countries also have a problematic water structure, economic problems and a huge population of refugees.

Lebanon reported its first cholera outbreak in nearly 30 years in October. There, 4.455 cases of this serious disease were recorded, as well as 20 deaths. Meanwhile, Lebanon received 400.000 doses of vaccines.