The U.N. has described the cholera outbreak as the biggest to hit the war-torn nation in years. It has killed 29 people in multiple parts of Syria, according to the Syrian health ministry on Monday.
The majority of the deaths and illnesses were in the northern Aleppo region, where rapid assessment testing has confirmed 338 instances since the outbreak was first noted last month, according to a statement from Syria’s health ministry.
Aleppo province, where 25 deaths had been confirmed, was claimed to have 230 cases. Syria held the remainder of them.
The Euphrates river, which divides Syria in half from north to east, and individuals consuming tainted water from it are thought to be the causes of the outbreak, the U.N. reported this month.
According to medical officials, the highly contagious disease has also spread to the Kurdish-held and rebel portions of the country in north and northwest Syria, where millions of people have been displaced by the ten-year conflict.
“This is a dangerous development for civilian lives with the start of the spread of the disease quickly under bad health conditions and especially in the camps,” According to a statement from the Western-backed militia.
Tens of thousands of displaced Syrians live in appalling conditions with no access to potable water and sanitary facilities in the densely populated strip, where the U.N. has issued a warning about high mortality rates if cholera spreads.
Officials reported that the World Health Organization (WHO) had already started delivering urgent shipments of medical equipment and chlorine tablets for water purification.
