A man receives treatment for cholera in Lebanon's northern Akkar governorate in October 2022. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Lebanon recorded 10 new cholera cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases of the disease to 546, the Health Ministry said in its daily report published Monday evening. No new deaths were recorded.
According to the report, 18 people have died since the beginning of the cholera outbreak — the first since 1993 — on Oct. 5.
Meanwhile, the number of hospital beds occupied by patients suffering from or suspected of having contracted the illness throughout Lebanon continues to decrease, reaching 54, down from 56.
Some 34,237 people received a cholera vaccination on Sunday as part of a three-week vaccination campaign, the Health Ministry said. On Saturday, 26,276 people took the vaccine, the ministry added. A total of 64,242 vaccine doses have been delivered so far, according to the Ministry's Monday report.
Cholera is usually caused by ingesting food or water contaminated with the Vibrio cholerae bacteria present in feces. Infected people may suffer acute diarrhea, but the illness can also be asymptomatic.