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| DIRTY ENVIRONMENT |
According to local media, interim Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad issued a warning that cholera could become "endemic" in Lebanon if the nation does not take action to stop the disease's spread.
Mr Abiad urged Lebanon to seize the "golden chance" to stop the transmission during a visit to public hospitals in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, noting that "the epidemic is still in its infancy and may be stopped."
The health ministry has been keeping an eye on efforts to secure adequate hospital beds for a potential spike in cholera inpatients, he continued.
He foresaw negative effects on Lebanon's tourism, agriproduct exports, and health sector as a result of the virus.
According to a cholera fact sheet produced by the WHO in March, a cholera-endemic area is one where confirmed cholera cases have been identified during the past three years with evidence of local transmission, indicating that the patients were not brought in from another location.
The country reported 10 new confirmed cases and one new fatality on Saturday, raising the totals to 381 and 17, respectively, according to the ministry's revised Cholera Surveillance Report.
The Lebanese Health Ministry notified WHO on October 6 of two lab-confirmed cholera cases reported from the northern portion of the nation, marking the first cholera epidemic in Lebanon since 1993, according to WHO.
(Xinhua/NAN)