WHO: Cholera death cases reach 1,858 in Yemen

The number of cholera victims in Yemen has risen to 858,000 since the beginning of the outbreak on 27 April, Anadolu Agency reported, quoting a report made by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Since the outbreak, 384,719 suspected cholera cases have been reported, while 1,858 death cases have been registered, 11 of which were recorded on Saturday. This has maintained the low mortality rate that the country has been witnessing over the past few weeks, which reached 30 death cases per day.

The number of affected governorates is now 21 (out of 23) and the number of affected districts is 295 (out of 333), the report pointed out.

The number of Yemenis who require humanitarian assistance, WHO noted, has increased from 18.8 million to 20.7 million since January.

The UN agency stressed on Twitter that the increase in the suffering came following a “growing insecurity” in the food supplies as well as the disease diffusion across the Arab country.

Cholera is an infectious disease that causes severe watery diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration and even death if untreated. Children, who suffer malnourishment and are below the age of five years, are particularly at a high risk of being infected by the epidemic.