Abdel Moneim Hamdo and his family -
including his eight children - had moved to the Al-Iman camp close to Idlib
from Atarib near Aleppo following the deadly earthquakes that hit Turkey and
neighbouring Syria on February 6, bringing mass destruction, levelling scores of
buildings, and killing tens of thousands of people.
He recently rushed his two children to the
hospital to check whether they had contracted cholera after they complained of
severe stomach aches that did not seem to resolve.
"After doing some tests, it turned out
they were suffering from acute gastroenteritis as a result of consuming
contaminated water," Hamdo said, highlighting the major lack of access to
clean water and sanitary toilet facilities at the camp.
Millions of Syrians were already displaced
by a decade-long brutal conflict. Following the recent humanitarian disaster
that killed nearly 6,000 people in northwest Syria and displaced countless
others, local healthcare organisations have raised warnings against a looming
outbreak of communicable diseases, given the severe shortage of clean drinking
water and shelter.
Since then, the number of people getting
infected with cholera has been on the rise. And there are widespread concerns
that refugee camps in the area lack enough resources to control an outbreak.
While cholera is caused by eating and
drinking contaminated food or water, its common symptoms include vomiting,
watery diarrhoea, abdominal pain and difficulty urinating, and high fevers as
well.
At least 6,458 new cholera cases were
recorded in February, with two confirmed deaths, according to the Early Warning
and Epidemic Response Program (EWARN) in northwest Syria. The total number of
cholera deaths recorded in the region since the outbreak began last year has
now reached 22, the Syria Civil Defence - also called the White Helmets -
informed.
A further surge in cases is possibly
inevitable due to the weakened infrastructure and contamination of water
sources with sewage. With earthquake victims prioritised at most healthcare
facilities now, cholera patients aren't possibly receiving the required
attention. An urgent launch of a vaccination campaign could help contain the
infections.