At least 39 people have died and hundreds more have been infected in a cholera outbreak in Syria. The infections have been diagnosed in both areas held by troops loyal to President Bashar Assad and in the northeast of the country.
The source of the cholera infection is believed to be tied to people who have used contaminated water from the Euphrates River for drinking and for irrigating crops, which has contaminated food. It is the first cholera outbreak since the start of the country’s long-running civil war in 2011.
The disease threatens to spread rapidly, especially since about half the country’s population lives in tent cities for internally displaced Syrians. The country suffers from a lack of water cleaning supplies, damaged water treatment plants and limited access to health care.