Egypt sends 17 tonnes of cholera medicine and vaccines to Lebanon

More than 2,700 confirmed or suspected cases have been reported, along with 18 deaths

A health worker treats a child who is suspected of having cholera at a field hospital in Bebnine, Akkar district, northern Lebanon. All photos: Reuters

Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health has reported 130 cases of cholera, taking the total of suspected and confirmed case to 1,225 as of October 28.

Confirmed cholera cases in Lebanon now stand at 371, with 16 deaths.

There are 154 cases of cholera in the Lebanese town of Bebnine.

Lebanon's first case of cholera since 1993 was reported on October 6 in Akkar district, about 20 kilometres north of Tripoli.

Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal disease that can be treated with oral rehydration but is deadly if left untreated, according to the World Health Organisation.

Cholera is spread by unsafe water and food that has been contaminated by human waste.

Lebanon shares border with Syria, where cases of cholera continue to rise.

Syria’s cholera outbreak is likely to have started with contaminated water and food irrigated by the Euphrates River, Save the Children says.

Egypt will send 17 tonnes of medicine and vaccines to help tackle Lebanon's deadly cholera outbreak.

The aid will arrive by military plane in Beirut on Wednesday morning, the Egyptian embassy in Lebanon said.

The mission said Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati requested help with the outbreak — its first in three decades — from Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi at the recent Arab League summit in Algeria.

There have been more than 2,700 confirmed or suspected cholera cases and 18 deaths in Lebanon since the outbreak began in early October.

Although infections have been found in all of Lebanon’s eight governorates, they are concentrated in northern areas near the Syrian border and in refugee camps which typically suffer from extremely poor sanitation.

However, reports of new cases have begun to emerge. There have been no deaths for a week amid a push by the authorities and humanitarian agencies to contain cholera, an acute diarrheal disease that is easily treatable but can prove deadly within hours if left to run its course.

Last week, Lebanon received its first batch of cholera vaccines, comprising more than 13,000 doses, from France. Another 600,000 are due to arrive from the UN next week.

The cholera strain found in Lebanon is similar to the one in neighbouring Syria, itself struggling with a major outbreak.

Lebanon is grappling with a severe economic crisis that has led to major shortages in medicine, clean water and electricity.

There are concerns that Lebanon’s struggling health infrastructure could fail to deal with a larger outbreak if the current one spreads further.