Kurdistan
KRG Health Minister Saman Barzinji speaking to reporters on September 14, 2023. Photo: Rudaw/screengrab
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - There are over 130 confirmed cases of cholera in Sulaimani and several cases have been registered in Erbil as well, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) health minister revealed on Thursday, stressing that the actual number is much higher.
The Kurdistan Region’s health authorities have recently reported a spike in the number of patients hospitalized for vomiting and diarrhea, urging citizens to exercise caution amid dozens of confirmed cases of cholera.
Health Minister Saman Barzinji on Thursday said that the rate of recorded cholera cases was declining as the Region enters cooler climates, but stressed that the number of cases was not the main issue, rather the prevalence of the bacteria in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
“It does not matter if the rate is decreasing or not, what matters is that now we know there is cholera bacteria in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, and if it exists today that means it will exist next year as well,” Barzinji told Rudaw’s Payam Sarbast and reporters.
Barzinji added that the ministry has prepared a report, which they will submit during the upcoming KRG cabinet meeting, emphasizing that coordination was needed between the different sectors to curb the spread of the infectious disease.
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.
The Kurdistan Region’s health authorities have recently reported a spike in the number of patients hospitalized for vomiting and diarrhea, urging citizens to exercise caution amid dozens of confirmed cases of cholera.
Health Minister Saman Barzinji on Thursday said that the rate of recorded cholera cases was declining as the Region enters cooler climates, but stressed that the number of cases was not the main issue, rather the prevalence of the bacteria in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
“It does not matter if the rate is decreasing or not, what matters is that now we know there is cholera bacteria in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, and if it exists today that means it will exist next year as well,” Barzinji told Rudaw’s Payam Sarbast and reporters.
Barzinji added that the ministry has prepared a report, which they will submit during the upcoming KRG cabinet meeting, emphasizing that coordination was needed between the different sectors to curb the spread of the infectious disease.
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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