Kurdistan
Sulaimani Director Sabah Hawrami (center) speaks to reporters during a press conference on August 31, 2023. Photo: Rudaw/screengrab
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Sulaimani health directorate on Thursday warned of a potential spread of cholera amid a spike in hospitalization cases due to vomiting and diarrhea, adding that they have already registered around 10 confirmed cases of the disease.
“We hospitalize around 100 people for vomiting and diarrhea on a daily basis in the public hospitals and the private hospitals as well, but that does not mean they are all cholera,” Sabah Hawrami, head of the Sulaimani general health directorate, told Rudaw's Horvan Rafaat and reporters, adding “the lab results of around 10 people have been confirmed as cholera by Baghdad.”
Hawrami stressed that there was no reason for citizens to panic as long as they keep using clean water. He also called on relevant authorities to cooperate with the health directorate to curb the spread of the highly contagious disease.
The province has not registered any cholera deaths as of yet, according to the health director.
Prior to the presser, the directorate held a panel in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) office in Sulaimani at the University of Sulaimani, addressing the main causes for cholera and guidelines on how to combat its spread.
The Sulaimani health directorate on Sunday said that they had recorded “a significant increase” in the number of patients hospitalized for vomiting and diarrhea, urging citizens to exercise caution.
Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by eating or drinking food or water that is contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholera, according to WHO. The Kurdistan Region recorded large-scale cholera outbreaks in 2007, 2008, and 2012.
“We hospitalize around 100 people for vomiting and diarrhea on a daily basis in the public hospitals and the private hospitals as well, but that does not mean they are all cholera,” Sabah Hawrami, head of the Sulaimani general health directorate, told Rudaw's Horvan Rafaat and reporters, adding “the lab results of around 10 people have been confirmed as cholera by Baghdad.”
Hawrami stressed that there was no reason for citizens to panic as long as they keep using clean water. He also called on relevant authorities to cooperate with the health directorate to curb the spread of the highly contagious disease.
The province has not registered any cholera deaths as of yet, according to the health director.
Prior to the presser, the directorate held a panel in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) office in Sulaimani at the University of Sulaimani, addressing the main causes for cholera and guidelines on how to combat its spread.
The Sulaimani health directorate on Sunday said that they had recorded “a significant increase” in the number of patients hospitalized for vomiting and diarrhea, urging citizens to exercise caution.
Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by eating or drinking food or water that is contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholera, according to WHO. The Kurdistan Region recorded large-scale cholera outbreaks in 2007, 2008, and 2012.
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