Cholera is spreading like an epidemic in Aleppo, Syria’s most populous province. In the past few days, 29 people have died due to cholera in different parts of this northern province.
In a statement on Monday, the Ministry of Health of Aleppo said that there was an outbreak of cholera in Aleppo last month. Hundreds of cholera patients have been reported to have contracted cholera in villages and towns in the province in the last few days, though it did not spread like that in the beginning.
“The death toll may increase in the coming days,” the health ministry said in a statement.
Meanwhile, officials from the United Nations Syria branch have blamed the recent outbreak on the pollution of the Euphrates River, which flows through Aleppo. They said that the people of Aleppo are forced to drink river water due to low rainfall and heat waves this year, as wells and other sources of freshwater have dried up; But drinking that water without properly disinfecting it is responsible for this cholera outbreak.
The Syria branch of the United States-based non-profit organization International Rescue Committee (IRC) said that more than 2,000 people have been infected with cholera in Aleppo and its surrounding areas, but the IRC believes that the actual number of affected patients is several times higher.
The country’s current cholera infection situation has been described as the biggest health disaster in the last two decades by the United Nations Syria office. Officials said that an application has already been made to the United Nation for urgent funding for water purification pills and other life-saving medicines.
