07 May 2019 - The Ministry of Public Health and Population of Yemen reported 22,502 suspected cases of cholera with 25 associated deaths during epidemiological week 17 (21 – 28 April) of 2019, of which 18% were severe. From 1 January 2018 to 28 April 2019, Yemen saw 649,910, cases and 1,066 deaths (CFR 0.16%). In 2019, 22.6% of suspected cases are children under five. The outbreak has affected 22 of 23 governorates and 290 of 333 districts in Yemen.

An uptick in weekly cases began in week 8 of 2019, peaking at 29500 cases in week 14 and dropping off in the three subsequent weeks. Although it is too early to speak of a downward trend, the decline may be due to enhanced control efforts including community engagement and WaSH activities, and scaling up of WHO's and partner response by establishing additional DTCs and ORCs.

The governorates reporting the highest number of cases this year are Amanat Al Asimah (47587), Sana’a (34234), Al Hudaydah (29462), Ibb (27014), Dhamar (24461) and Arman (23804). 

Since January 2019, Yemen's central public health laboratories tested 5535 samples and confirmed 2915 as cholera-positive by culture. During this reporting period, governorates reporting the highest number of positive cultures were Amanat Al Asimah (893), Taizz (699) and Sana’a (342).   

WHO continues to lead and support the health authority's and partners' response including with case management, surveillance and laboratory investigations, hotspot mapping, OCV campaign planning, WaSH and risk communication.