“At the start of the health crisis, we just had four beds available for the hundreds of infected people we were receiving. We understood immediately that it was an event out of the ordinary. We are now better equipped, but today all beds are occupied.”
Bebnine, Akkar, Halba, Tripoli, LEBANON - It’s been less than two months since Lebanon reported a lone case of cholera, the first in the country since 1993.
That was Oct. 6. Since then, case counts have continued to climb, sparking concern from the World Health Organization that Lebanon’s already-precarious healthcare system could be pushed to the brink. More than 4,0000 suspected and confirmed cases have been recorded so far, with children under 14 making up the majority of cases. At least 20 people have died.
People become infected with Cholera after ingesting food or water contaminated with a bacteria called Vibrio cholerae. It causes severe diarrhea, can kill within hours if untreated, and is closely linked to inadequate access to clean water and sanitation facilities.
The first cholera case in Lebanon was detected in the rural northern province of Akkar, according to the Health Ministry, which has become, along with the country’s northeast, the epicentre of the outbreak. These areas border Syria, where a cholera outbreak has infected more than 10,000 people and killed dozens, according to the Syrian Ministry of Health. The bacteria might have trickled down the porous border between the two countries as people can circulate freely, experts say.
The outbreak is the latest stressor in a country already facing financial collapse, a dysfunctional electricity sector, water supply shortages, and inadequate solid waste and wastewater management. Experts say those issues, coupled with severe energy lags making water filtration plants less effective, are making it harder to contain the disease.