Caretaker Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad (center) speaks during a tour visiting public hospitals in the Bekaa valley on Oct. 30, 2022. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Caretaker Health Minister Firass Abiad warned on Sunday that cholera could become an "endemic" disease in Lebanon if the ministry, backed by medical staff, fails to curb its spread, in a statement reported by the state-run National News Agency.
"If we fail to stop the spread of the epidemic, we are afraid of facing an endemic state of cholera in Lebanon," Abiad said during a tour of public hospitals in the Bekaa Valley. An endemic disease is a disease that is consistently present in a certain area or region, where the number of patients and the extent of the spread can be predicted.
To put it into perspective, cholera was "largely eliminated from industrialized countries by water and sewage treatment over a century ago," but "remains a significant cause of illness and death in many African countries," according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"This would have an impact not only on the health sector, but also on agriculture, and some countries might stop importing products from Lebanon," Abiad warned.
The minister also warned of negative consequences on the tourism sector, saying that all these factors could "have a huge impact on the economy."
"We must all help each other to stop the epidemic," said Abiad, arguing that the country "has a golden opportunity, as the epidemic is still in its infancy and can be stopped."
Abiad added that "so far, the number of cases in the Bekaa is, in general, lower than that recorded in the region of Akkar and the North," calling on citizens to take all appropriate precautions. He also assured his ministry is "monitoring the preparations made by hospitals so that they can accommodate patients if the number of cases increases."
Abiad is expected to hold a press conference on Monday at 11 a.m. to outline the plan developed by his ministry for the distribution of the first batch of cholera vaccines that Lebanon will receive.
The Health Ministry has recorded 16 deaths and 371 confirmed infections since the outbreak of the disease on Oct. 5, when Lebanon recorded its first cholera case since 1993. On Thursday, caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi asked the governors of "all districts" in Lebanon to "fully control" the implementation of water treatments and to "strengthen the monitoring of all water sources."