Yemen susceptible to cholera
According to UK media outlet The Telegraph, medical experts in Yemen are taking action to avoid a repeat of the worst cholera epidemic in recent times.
There are concerns that the current rainy season will trigger another outbreak of the disease and according to estimates, millions of people will be at risk of infection if the disease spreads without interruption.
Anton Camacho, an epidemiologist at Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the explosiveness of cholera outbreaks means reactive control strategies are much less likely to succeed due to limited resources, especially in the midst of a war, such is occurring in Yemen.
Advice from the National Health Services (NHS) is that travellers who are heading to parts of the world known to be affected by the disease should take precautions such as: only drinking water that’s been recently boiled or drinking from a bottle that’s been properly sealed; avoiding eating ice cream and having ice in drinks; avoiding uncooked fruit and vegetables, unless they’ve been washed in safe water; and avoiding shellfish, seafood and salads.
The areas most at risk are parts of sub-Saharan Africa, south and south-east Asia, the Middle East and central America and the Caribbean.