The United Nations humanitarian agency has said it needs 10.7 million U.S. dollars to respond immediately to a cholera outbreak in Somalia.
“The current epidemiological data indicates that an estimated 1.2 million people are at risk of being infected in 2024,” said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in its report on Tuesday.
The OCHA said the heavy rains are expected to worsen the current outbreak of acute watery diarrhoea (AWD)/cholera, which is already significantly high in some hot spot locations.
Meanwhile, about 7,200 cases of cholera have been reported, with 75 deaths since January, according to the Ministry of Health and Human Services.
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The ongoing cholera outbreak in Somalia is mainly attributed to a growing number of people with limited access to safe water and adequate sanitation facilities.
Somalia has had uninterrupted AWD/cholera transmission since 2022 and in the Banadir region since the drought of 2017, according to the World Health Organization.
In 2023, the report indicated that more than 18,300 cumulative cases and 46 deaths were reported, with over half being children aged below five years.
Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Cholera remains a global threat to public health and an indicator of inequity and lack of social development.
Cholera is an extremely virulent disease transmitted through the ingestion of contaminated food or water (2). Cholera can cause severe acute watery diarrhoea and the severe forms of the disease can kill within hours if left untreated.
Most people infected with V. cholerae do not develop any symptoms, although the bacteria are present in their faeces for 1–10 days after infection and are shed back into the environment, potentially infecting other people.
Among people who develop symptoms, the majority have mild or moderate symptoms. It takes between 12 hours and 5 days for a person to show symptoms. A minority of patients develop acute watery diarrhoea with severe dehydration. This can lead to death if left untreated.
(Xinhua/NAN)
