Doctors in Yemen overwhelmed by hundreds of suspected cholera cases: Video
Floods in the Hay District of Yemen have triggered diarrhoea, one of the major symptoms of cholera among residents of Hais.
The floods caused by heavy rains started in July 2024 and have killed over 60 people in Yemen.
According to the medical staff at a treatment centre in Hays, they are overwhelmed by the number of patients who troop into the centre daily. He further warned that the facility could be shut down without urgent support.
"The influx of patients from all villages near the hospital has increased because of the floods and rain in the Hays district these days. We are now facing a medical crisis which, if it's not tackled by the concerned authorities, will turn into an even bigger disaster. The staff on duty is overwhelmed and could fall apart at any moment and the centre could be closed," Bakil al-Hadrami, a doctor told AFP.
He also added that out of the over 530 patients attended to between the 1st and 18th of August, only three tested positive for cholera but the figure does not rule out an epidemic.
"Between the 1st and 18th of August, we've received 530 suspected cases (of cholera, ed.), three of which were confirmed positive following testing in a lab in nearby Taiz. This is evidence that the cholera epidemic is present and spreading within Hays. The cases aren't from one single village but from several villages. So we have this situation and now with the rain, it will only get worse and worse," Bakil explained.
The UN also reports that Yemen's suspected cholera cases could rise from 164,000 to 250,000 without immediate support.
