19 September 2019 - The Ministry of Public Health and Population of Yemen reported 17 498 suspected cases and 12 associated deaths during epidemiological week 34 (19-25 August) of 2019. Twelve percent of cases were severe. The cumulative total number of suspected cholera cases from 1 January 2018 to 25 August 2019 is 972 226, with 1338 associated deaths (CFR 0.14%). Children under five represent 25% of total suspected cases during 2019. The outbreak has affected 22 of 23 governorates and 305 of 333 districts in Yemen.
From week 8 in 2019, the trend of weekly reported suspected cholera cases started increasing and reached to more than 29 500 cases in week 14. These were the maximum number of cases reported so far. The trend of suspected cases has been fluctuated over the past weeks. For the last weeks, an increase in number of reported cases was observed.
The governorates reporting the highest number of suspected cases of cholera during 2019 were Amanat Al Asimah (85 481), Al Hudaydah (79 510), Sana’a (74 510), Hajjah (56 714), Dhamar (51 126), Ibb (54 222) and Amran (39 573).
Of a total 89 384 samples tested since January 2019, 4412 have been confirmed as cholera-positive by culture at the central public health laboratories. During this reporting period the governorates reporting the highest number of positive culture were Taizz (1118), Amanat Al Asimah (1248) and Sana’a (440).
WHO continues to provide leadership and support for activities with health authorities and partners to respond to this ongoing cholera outbreak, including case management, surveillance and laboratory investigations, hotspot mapping and OCV campaign planning, water sanitation and hygiene (WaSH), and risk communication.
