Lebanon begins vaccination campaign as cholera cases soar
The crisis-hit country’s collapsing water and sewage infrastructure has opened a breeding ground for waterborne illness.
BEBNINE, Lebanon — Lebanon began its campaign to roll out cholera vaccinations last weekend in the country’s northern governorate of Akkar, the epicenter of the outbreak.
The number of cholera cases has soared since Lebanon’s first case in October, the country’s collapsing water and sewage infrastructure opening a breeding ground for the contagious disease.
Four-thousand prison inmates and officials have already been vaccinated from a stock of over 13,000 vaccinations donated by France last week. Another 600,000 doses from UNHCR and the World Health Organization are expected to arrive in Lebanon on Wednesday, to be distributed to Lebanese and Syrians in areas with the highest infection rates.
Case numbers have nearly doubled in the past week alone, reaching 2,722 cumulative cases and 18 deaths, according to the government’s latest statistics. But this number is still likely far underreported, with most clinics lacking the resources to conduct the expensive tests.
