A case of cholera detected in Akkar

The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced that a case of cholera was detected this Wednesday in Akkar. “After being informed of a possible case of cholera on Monday, October 14, the Ministry of Health began collecting clinical and environmental samples and to carry out field visits The case was confirmed this Wednesday, October 16 by the isolation of the bacteria in one of the reference laboratories and is caused by Vibrio cholerae type 01, indicates the. press release.

It specifies that the infected patient is of Lebanese nationality and that he presented himself at the hospital on Monday due to “acute watery diarrhea and dehydration”. Water samples were taken in the municipalities of Samounie and Mechmech in Akkar and tests were carried out among the patient’s entourage, the press release said.

Last year, between October 2022 and January 2023, a cholera epidemic broke out in Lebanon, with 671 confirmed cases and 23 deaths.

Cholera is an acute diarrheal disease caused by the bacteria Vibrio cholerae, which is transmitted primarily through contaminated water or food. The disease can lead to severe dehydration and death if not treated promptly. However, cholera is generally easily treated by administering an oral rehydration solution. Severely dehydrated patients require rapid administration of intravenous fluids. Although many infected people do not have symptoms, the bacteria can be spread in their feces. Rapid transmission of cholera is often exacerbated by inadequate sanitation and lack of access to clean water, problems that are particularly prevalent in regions hosting displaced or refugee populations.

In September, the Ministry of Health launched a vaccination campaign in the neighborhoods of Amroussiyé and Hay el-Sellom in southern Beirut, but also in Halba, Bebnine and Deir Dalloum in Akkar, in Bar Élias, Qab Élias and Saadnayel in the Bekaa, as well as in Ersal in the caza of Baalbeck-Hermel.