世衛組織：葉門霍亂病例數可能在未來6個月內達到300000！

據日內瓦路透社報道： 世界衛生組織周五表示，葉門霍亂病例可能在六個月內增至30萬例，且死亡人數「極高」！

世衛組織葉門代表Nevio Zagaria還通過電話向日內瓦記者透露：「除了已經發生的5萬個案例之外，我們預計未來六個月可能出現的新發病例將達到20萬到25萬例。這將直接導致生活成本的不斷增加。」

霍亂疫情始於2016年10月，並持續到12月。雖然病例數有所減少，但並沒有得到充分控制，新病例隨著雨季而出現，並因經濟及衛生系統的崩潰而惡化。

自4月27日起，葉門23個省份的18宗疫情共包括23425例霍亂病例，造成的死亡人數已達242人。

儘管四分之三的霍亂感染者沒有癥狀，但是從糞便污染的水或食物中攝入霍亂弧菌引起的霍亂，能在數小時內造成腹瀉脫水甚至死亡。

潛伏期短，意味著疫情可以迅速蔓延，特別是在沒有安全飲用水和適當衛生設施的地方。但是，葉門已經深受兩年內戰的摧殘，有1880萬人需要人道主義援助，其中許多人處於饑荒的邊緣，不到45％的衛生機構正常運作。

葉門目前需要350個霍亂治療中心和2000個口服補液點，但由於中央銀行危機，公共部門已經七個月沒有支付薪金，目前我們只能完成目標的10-12％左右。

Yemen Cholera Cases Could Hit 300,000 Within Six Months -WHO

GENEVA (Reuters) - Yemen could have as many as 300,000 cases of cholera within six months and an "extremely high" number of deaths, the World Health Organization said on Friday.

"We need to expect something that could go up to 200,000-250,000 cases over the next six months, in addition to the 50,000 cases that have already occurred," Nevio Zagaria, WHO Yemen representative, told reporters in Geneva by phone.The cost in lives from this will be will be "extremely, extremely high," he said.

The epidemic began in October 2016 and grew until December. It dwindled but was never fully under control, Zagaria said, and new cases had arisen with the rainy season, worsened by the collapse of the economy and the health system.

The outbreak has caused 23,425 cases in 18 of Yemen"s 23 governorates since April 27, and 242 people have died, he said.

That misleadingly suggested a case fatality rate of about 1 percent, with the true rate more likely 4-5 percent, he said, adding that the latest data had taken health experts by surprise.

"The speed of the resurgence of the cholera epidemic is unprecedented (for Yemen)."Caused by the ingestion of the Vibrio cholerae bacterium from fecal contaminated water or food, cholera"s sudden onset of acute watery diarrhea and can kill within hours, although three-quarters of infected people show no symptoms.

The short incubation period means outbreaks can spread with explosive speed, especially in places without safe water and proper sanitation, according to the WHO.Yemen has been ruined by two years of civil war, with 18.8 million people needing humanitarian aid, many of them on the brink of famine, and less than 45 percent of health facilities fully functional.

Sufferers were overwhelming Yemen"s remaining hospitals, but it would be better to treat them in specialized centers, 50 of which are already operating, along with 300 oral rehydration points. But such numbers were too few, and the WHO will release an emergency response plan in the next 48 hours, Zagaria said.

"We have a target of 350 cholera treatment centers and 2,000 oral rehydration points, and we are covering around 10-12 percent of this target at the moment."But the epidemic could not be addressed without ensuring that health workers were paid, he said, after seven months of no public sector salary payments because of a central bank crisis.

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