BEIRUT — A recent outbreak of cholera in Syria has hit nearly all its provinces and spread to neighboring Lebanon, triggering alarms in both countries, where economic crises have exacerbated deteriorating health conditions.
Syria’s cholera outbreak spreads across country, hits neighboring Lebanon
By Friday, Lebanon had recorded two cholera cases in Akkar province, the northernmost part of the country bordering Syria, according to Health Minister Firass Abiad. No cholera vaccines are available in the country at this time, Abiad told The Washington Post.
Both Syria and Lebanon are mired in economic meltdowns that have wreaked havoc on every facet of life, including health conditions and water sanitation.
UNICEF, the United Nations children’s agency, said that the cholera cases in Syria have been concentrated in the north but that the waterborne disease is “rapidly spreading” into other governorates.
Syria, especially its northern areas, has a growing, severe water crisis because of the large-scale damage inflicted on its water and sanitation infrastructure over the course of an 11-year war that has ravaged much of the country. The economic crisis, persistent fighting, displacement of people and prolonged drought has left 47 percent of the population reliant on “alternative and often unsafe water sources,” UNICEF said.
“At least 70 percent of the discharged sewage is untreated which presents major risks for disease outbreaks, including cholera,” the agency reported, estimating that the conflict had damaged two-thirds of the country’s water treatment plants, half its pumping stations and one-third of its water towers.
Syria’s Health Ministry said Tuesday that it had confirmed 594 cases via rapid tests, mainly in Aleppo province, and recorded 39 deaths from the disease.
The reported number of deaths, carried by state media, is significant. By contrast, Syria was slow to acknowledge the spread of covid-19 after the pandemic hit, prompting a rare outcry in 2020 from inside government-held parts of the country, where physicians publicly disputed official numbers at risk to their own lives.
In light of the recent cholera outbreak, the Health Ministry launched awareness campaigns in schools and called on residents to wash their hands, drink water from “safe sources” where available and otherwise boil water before usage, wash fruits and vegetables well, and consult physicians early about any suspected case.
But in much of Syria, these preventive measures are difficult to adopt. Water accessibility became a significant issue this summer across the country, meaning residents have no guarantees of safe water sources. The health-care system has been decimated by the war and lack of funds and medicine. Western sanctions have made the situation worse.
UNICEF also drew attention to the spread of cholera in camps hosting internally displaced people, or IDPs, saying the situation there is “particularly critical.” There are more than 6 million IDPs in Syria, according to United Nations estimates.
Beyond finding stopgap measures to halt the spread of this disease, the agency said, a restoration of water and sanitation systems is necessary to prevent future outbreaks.
But the prospects for such infrastructure reconstruction are bleak: The government has not been able, or willing, to carry out such projects. International donors suffer from “a certain fatigue” when it comes to Syria, said the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Joseph Borrell. He reminded international donors at a conference in May, “Now, there is Ukraine on the headlines, but do not give up on Syria.”
Lebanon’s fate is in many ways tied to Syria. Their economies are intertwined, and shortages of goods in Lebanon reverberate across Syria, and vice versa. Wheat, oil, medicine and foodstuffs are frequently smuggled across the border in both directions, more typically from Lebanon into Syria.
The World Health Organization is working with the Lebanese government to provide vaccines, said Abiad, the health minister. Alissar Rady, WHO’s team lead in Lebanon, said the agency is working with the Health Ministry, UNICEF and other partners to put in place a plan that focuses on surveillance and early detection, and to prep hospitals to receive cases that require advanced care. Community engagement is also key, she added. “And there is a lot of work with the national authorities to see how we can enhance water-quality monitoring and periodical water testing.”
Lebanon has long had water sanitation issues. Running water — now just a dream in the most economically hit parts of the country — has not been drinkable for decades. The coastline, especially along the capital, Beirut, contains high levels of contamination and fecal matter.
And the health-care system has been struggling to stay afloat as the economy collapses and hordes of medical professionals leave the country. The WHO estimated last year that nearly 40 percent of Lebanon’s doctors and 30 percent of its nurses had departed since 2019.
The lack of electricity has also worsened health conditions in the country. Last year, an outbreak of E. coli added to the woes of overcrowded hospitals. Food poisoning has been on the rise the past two summers, in part because of the absence of stable power supply and food refrigeration.
Source: WP
