Nurse Amir Rashid at a cholera ward in Bebnine, Akkar governorate, with a young patient. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Lebanon on Saturday recorded two new cholera cases but no new deaths in the previous 24 hours, the Health Ministry said in its daily report.
The total number of cases recorded since the beginning of the outbreak in October is now 663. Lebanon has also recorded a total of 23 deaths from the illness. This cholera outbreak is the country's first since 1993.
Lebanon received 900,000 additional cholera vaccine doses on Wednesday with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Coordination Group as part of the vaccination campaign's second phase.
Meanwhile, the country's cholera outbreak seems to be under control, according to a statement by the United Nations Information Center Beirut.
"Among the 20 out of the 26 districts at the national level with recorded laboratory-confirmed cases, Akkar and the North governorates are still recording the highest number of cases," the UN statement said.
Last week, caretaker Health Minister Firass Abiad said the cholera vaccine has been administered to 500,000 people out of the 600,000 targeted by the first phase of the vaccination campaign launched last month. He also said the outbreak "is under control."
"The first campaign began in mid-November 2022 and reached over 90 percent coverage as of early December 2022, targeting refugee and host communities in hotspot areas and regions affected by the outbreak," the UN statement added.
The statement also said that "WHO requires around US$11.2 million for the cholera response over six months," but that "only 29 percent has been received so far."