Lebanon announces end of cholera outbreak

Beirut, June 12 (IANS) Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health has announced the end of the cholera outbreak in Lebanon as the country has not recorded any cases since the end of February.

"More than 12 weeks have passed since the last confirmed case was recorded in Lebanon," the Health Ministry was quoted by the National News Agency as saying on Sunday.

The Ministry said it will continue to monitor acute watery diarrhoea through active surveillance and will intensify awareness campaigns against the disease, Xinhua news agency reported.

A total of 671 confirmed cholera cases were reported in Lebanon in the latest round of break that started on October 6, 2022.

In November 2022, the Ministry received more than 6,00,000 doses of cholera vaccines from the International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision. These vaccines were distributed to target refugees and host communities in hotspot areas and regions affected by the outbreak, covering nearly 90 per cent of the vaccination needs.