Health registers 15 cases of cholera in Aleppo

The Ministry of Health announced the registration of 15 cases of cholera in Aleppo Governorate, and treatment is being provided to them in hospitals.

The ministry said in a statement today that as part of the ongoing work of the epidemiological investigation teams, a suspected case of cholera was detected in Aleppo for a 9-year-old child suffering from symptoms of acute diarrhea accompanied by frequent vomiting. The child entered the hospital and was discharged a few days later, and he is in a normal and stable general health condition after giving the necessary treatment.

The ministry indicated that it has intensified the epidemiological surveillance of any case in hospitals, conducted contact tracing, and allocated isolation rooms for suspected cases. It indicated that in cooperation with the concerned authorities, samples will be taken from the sewage and water network, especially from the area of residence of the affected, tightening control over water safety and placing Chlorine in them and giving preventive treatment to the contacts.

The ministry said that during the same period, an increase in the number of patients complaining of celiac was recorded in Aleppo hospitals, and after testing a number of suspected cases, some positive results were registered, so appropriate curative and preventive measures were immediately taken.

According to the ministry’s statement, the outcome of samples and tests that proved positive is 15 under treatment in the hospital. One positive sample was also proven from sewage and another from an ice cube factory, which was closed immediately.

The ministry pointed out that it is conducting epidemiological surveillance of the disease around the clock, stressing that treatment is available in all its forms, and hospitals have been strengthened and provided with all treatment measures in anticipation of any increase in the number of limited cases so far.

In its statement, the ministry called on citizens to follow public health procedures and behaviors such as washing hands, drinking water from a safe source, washing fruits and vegetables well, cooking food and keeping it at the appropriate temperature, not drinking or eating anything of unknown source or suspected of its safety, and seeking early medical advice in case of suspected infection.

It is noteworthy that cholera is a disease that affects children and adults. It is caused by a bacterial infection that can cause acute diarrhea. The incubation period of the disease takes from 12 hours to 5 days for a person to show symptoms after eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water.

Inas Abdulkareem