WHO: Yemen cholera cases pass the 100,000 mark

The number of suspected cholera cases in war-torn Yemen has risen to more than 100,000 since an outbreak began on April 27, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.

 

The number of suspected cholera cases in war-torn Yemen has risen to more than 100,000 since an outbreak began on April 27, the World Health Organization said on Thursday.

The rapid spread of the disease through 19 of Yemen’s 23 governorates highlighted a humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen after two years of war that has disabled most health care facilities, according to the U.N. humanitarian office.

“To date, 101,820 suspected cholera cases and 789 deaths have been reported in 19 governorates,” WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told Reuters.

The WHO has warned that the number of cases could hit 300,000, but the daily number of new ones declined slightly in the week to June 5 to 3,432, compared with 3,651 in the previous seven-day period