WHO: Over half million Yemenis infected with cholera since April

The World Health Organization (WHO) says more than 500,000 people have been affected by cholera in war-torn Yemen since the epidemic broke out in late April, as the waterborne disease has killed nearly 2,000 others in the impoverished nation during the past four months.  

 

The World Health Organization (WHO) says more than 500,000 people have been affected by cholera in war-torn Yemen since the epidemic broke out in late April, as the waterborne disease has killed nearly 2,000 others in the impoverished nation during the past four months.  

According to a statement released by the United Nation health agency on Monday, a total of 503,484 cases, suspected to be infected with cholera, and 1,975 deaths, attributable to the outbreak, were documented during the period in Yemen.

Caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, cholera infection first became epidemic last October and spread until December when it dwindled, but only to worryingly resurface again in late April.

The statement added that the overall caseload had decreased considerably since July, but warned that the disease was still infecting an estimated 5,000 people each day.