Cholera outbreak hits Syrian refugees in Lebanon

A cholera outbreak is spreading among Syrian refugees in displacement camps in Lebanon, which is already suffering from an economic meltdown that is straining hospitals and impeding access to clean water.

Lebanon recorded its first cholera case in early October – signaling the return of the bacteria for the first time in three decades. The most recent update confirmed at least 220 cases and five deaths.

According to the World Health Organization, Lebanon is the latest phase of a rampaging outbreak that started in Afghanistan this past summer, then spread to Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, and Syria.

In Syria, more than 13,000 suspected cases have been reported, including 60 deaths, according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

Cholera is typically spread through contaminated water, food, or sewage. It can cause severe diarrhea and dehydration – which can lead to death if untreated.

Most cholera cases in Lebanon have been in refugee camps, among the roughly one million Syrian who have taken refuge there over the past 10 years from the conflict in their homeland, said Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad – noting that Beirut’s three-year economic crisis was partly to blame.

Syrian refugees in Lebanon rely on UN agencies and international NGOs to regularly truck in water to fill up cisterns outside their tens and clear out sewage containers.

But residents of the Idris camp in Qub Elias said those services have become more scarce, prompting fears of an overflow.

"When the sewage containers would overflow in the past, there would be dirty water flooding the camp," said Amal, a Syrian woman living in the camp.

"If there isn't already cholera in this camp, I'm sure we'll get it in no time."