The Syria Response Coordinators released a statement saying: “the first case of cholera was recorded in northwest Syria in Jarablus Hospital, east of Aleppo, after it was transferred from a village. The situation in the region is particularly ripe for a significant spread of the disease, and we assure that the outbreak will be overwhelming for thousands of people if it spreads
We stress on providing the necessary support to the camps in particular, especially with regard to securing water and working on repairing sewage networks. We ask the humanitarian organizations working in the area to act urgently to take measures to prevent cholera within the camps.”
Syrian Civil Defense (The White Helmets) also commented on the danger of the situation, “The disease poses a real threat to the lives of the population due to the destruction of infrastructure, exhaustion of the medical sector, loss of life necessities, and the presence of camps with poor sanitary conditions that constitute a fertile environment for the spread of the disease (common bathrooms – lack of clean water supplies – and the absence of sewage networks).
We call on the people to pay attention to the sources of drinking water and boil it before drinking it if it is not sterilized with chlorine for sterilizing the water and under the supervision of medical authorities, to cook food well, to wash hands well with soap and water, and to adhere to preventive measures, especially in the camps”
