Yemen cholera cases may reach 300,000: Unicef

Geneva, June 23 (IANS) Cholera cases in Yemen may reach 300,000 by the end of August due to the rainy season, a United Nations agency warned on Friday.

In a teleconference from Sanaa, the representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) in the Arab country, Meritxell Relano, explained that forecasts are based on the fact that the growth curve of affected people continues to rise.

Relano said currently of the 192,983 patients, 1,265 have died -- a quarter of which were children -- indicating that the mortality rate is still maintained at less than one per cent, Efe news reported.

Half of those infected are minors, she added. In addition, Yemeni children suffer from extraordinary levels of malnutrition, making them more vulnerable to disease, as the country is on the verge of famine.

Relano said that in places where Unicef has been able to carry out a house-to-house prevention campaign, the levels of infection have decreased.

The expert pointed out that the drinking water and sanitation system is being destroyed in many parts of Yemen and the health system is on the brink of collapse, because employees have not received their salaries since last October.

She added that Unicef, the World Health Organisation and other agencies are providing incentives to health workers so they can continue to work and keeping hospitals and care centres open for cholera patients.

Ravina Shamsadani, a spokeswoman for the United Nations agency for human rights, said that the outbreak of cholera has also affected eight prisons and detention centres.