Cholera spreads from Iraq to Syria, Kuwait, Bahrain: UNICEF

A cholera outbreak in Iraq has spread to neighboring Syria, Kuwait and Bahrain, and risks turning into a region-wide epidemic as millions of pilgrims prepare to visit the country, UNICEF's Iraq director said.

The disease, which can lead to death by dehydration and kidney failure within hours if left untreated, was detected west of Baghdad in September and has since infected at least 2,200 people in Iraq and has killed six.

"It (the outbreak) already has a regional dynamic and the risk of that can only be increased by people from all over the region coming into Iraq," UNICEF country director, Peter Hawkins, said on Thursday. "Kuwait, Bahrain and Syria have already had confirmed cases."

DT News had reported exactly a month earlier that the risk of spread of infection in Bahrain was low, as clean drinking water is available in plenty and the country has effective sanitation system.

However, with more Bahrainis likely to travel to Iraq, where the number of cholera cases has surpassed 800 then, the ministry thought fit to issue travel guidelines.

A Bahraini woman diagnosed with cholera during the first week of October, following which the Health Ministry issued guidelines to those travelling to Iraq. The Ministry has urged the travellers to use bottled water for drinking during travel.

To be extra careful, travellers were advised to boil the water for more than a minute.

Since cleaning fruits and vegetables with clean water is essential, it is also important to peel them before eating and ensure the meals are cooked well and are hot. The guidelines also urge the travellers to wash the hands thoroughly and consistently especially before and after eating and using the bathroom.

The ministry has also asked travellers not to bring food items or water from Iraq as they may carry the disease. If affected with diarrhea, travellers must follow rules of hygiene and get checked to the nearest hospital or health centre when it gets worse.

Meanwhile millions of Muslims are due to visit Iraq in December for Arbaeen, a religious ritual marking the end of an annual mourning period for the Prophet Mohammad's grandson Hussein.

Hawkins said UNICEF was working with clerics to convey information about how to guard against cholera, which is endemic in Iraq and the wider region.

The war against Islamic State militants who control large swathes of territory in northern and western Iraq has also contributed to the outbreak.

The conflict has displaced more than 3 million people, with many living in camps where conditions are conducive to the spread of cholera - a bite of contaminated food or a sip of contaminated water is enough to cause infection.

Hawkins said UNICEF has only limited access to areas controlled by Islamic State, which swept across the Syrian border in mid-2014 in a bid to establish a modern caliphate.

One in five of the confirmed cases in Iraq is among children, and in large parts of the country the start of the school year was delayed by a month as a precaution, UNICEF said in a statement.

In response to the outbreak, UNICEF is providing bottled water, oral rehydration salts and installing community water tanks, but like most humanitarian operations in Iraq it is severely underfunded.

Caption : A patient suffering from cholera rests inside a hospital in Baghdad on September 21 (Reuters)

(Report contains inputs from Reuters)