A lab technician works on samples to test for cholera at a hospital in Syria's northern city of Aleppo on Sept. 11, 2022. (Credit: AFP)
BEIRUT — Lebanon recorded 46 new cholera cases in the last 48 hours bringing the total to 89, while one new person died, the Health Ministry said in its report on Monday.
According to the report, three people have died so far since the beginning of the cholera outbreak.
On Oct. 6, Lebanon’s first cholera outbreak in nearly three decades spread in rural areas in the north of the country, raising concerns about the possibility of the disease reaching more people or, even worse, overwhelming the already collapsed public health system.
In a report published Monday, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said that part of its cholera response task force's mission in Lebanon will include procuring and distributing "bleach, hand sanitizer, liquid soap, and water purification tablets for 1,731 public schools (primary first and second shifts), secondary schools, and Technical and Vocational Educational Training (TVET) [institutions] as well as 361 private free schools."
UNICEF also added that since Oct. 8, the organization "has distributed 80,000 liters of fuel to water pumping stations and wastewater treatment stations in locations with confirmed and suspected cholera cases; procured emergency medical supplies to treat cholera — including 150,000 Oral Rehydration Salts and 50 Cholera treatment kits," which "will support treatment of 5,000 cholera cases and symptoms including moderate to severe diarrhea," and "trained 900 frontline workers and partners on cholera awareness including transmission, symptoms, treatment, prevention, FAQs, and referral mechanisms."
According to the most recent World Health Organization count, the cases in Lebanon come after more than 13,000 reported cholera cases and 60 deaths in neighboring Syria since August. According to experts on the country’s water infrastructure, Lebanon’s general household water supply is at a lower risk than contaminated fruits and vegetables, and there are safeguards in place that reduce the chances of contamination of the residential water supply.