WHO: 2 Mln Doses of Cholera Vaccine Arrive in Syria

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization said two million doses of oral cholera vaccines have arrived in Syria, as tens of thousands of acute watery diarrhea cases have been recorded in the country.

The WHO confirmed that trucks carrying two million doses of oral cholera vaccine arrived in Damascus today.

Since the outbreak was declared on September 10, tens of thousands of suspected acute watery diarrhea cases have been reported in all governorates.

WHO indicated that the vaccination campaign using vaccines will begin on December 4, adding that the governorates of Aleppo, Raqqa, Al Hasakah, and Deir ez-Zur are the most affected by the disease.

The first cases of cholera were detected in Aleppo last August, and an outbreak was declared the following month. By November, the disease had already spread to 14 governorates in Syria and neighboring Lebanon.

On October 25, UN Director of Operations and Advocacy Rina Ghailani said there are 24,000 suspected cases of cholera in Syria, and at least 80 cholera-related deaths.

The Syrian Ministry of Health mentioned in October that the Aleppo governorate was the largest epicenter of cholera, with 576 confirmed cases, followed by the governorates of Deir ez-Zur, Al Hasakah, and Latakia.

Damascus recorded 14 cholera cases and one death from the disease, and the number of confirmed cases of cholera in the province approached 1000 cases.