Yemen in Focus: Hundreds die as swine flu spreads in Houthi-controlled areas
More than 200 people have died of swine flu and dengue fever since October 2019, the country's rebel-led health ministry announced just as the year ended.
"A bout of fast-spreading swine flu had killed 94 people in October alone, while thousands of reported cases have overwhelmed health care facilities, already crippled by constant violence," said Mohammed al-Mansour, a senior Houthi health official.
Yet another outbreak of dengue fever has also swept across the country, killing 68 people, including 16 children under five so far this month, he added.
The painful disease, which has already sprouted across much of Yemen in recent years, has re-emerged due to the deterioration of Yemen's health and sanitation systems.
The devastating death toll, which comes as Yemen struggled with more than four years of war, is likely to rise.
In 2015, the World Health Organisation reported a surge in cases of dengue fever – endemic in Yemen. Outbreaks follow seasonal patterns with the highest number of cases usually reported from April to August.
Sewage, rotting rubbish, and, even worse, rotting bodies, that have piled up on streets in parts of Yemen have become fertile breeding grounds for the mosquitoes that carry the dengue virus.
Sewage, rotting rubbish, and, even worse, rotting bodies, that have piled up on streets in parts of Yemen have become fertile breeding grounds for the mosquitoes that carry the dengue virus
A mosquito-borne viral infection gives symptoms of dengue fever that appear 3-14 days after infection. It causes a flu-like illness that can develop into a potential life-threatening condition, especially without proper supportive medical care.
Along with dengue fever and swine flu, the impoverished country has also suffered with severe cases of Diphtheria – an infectious and contagious disease that usually involves the nose, throat, and air passages, but may also infect the skin.
In September, the United Nations agencies for health and children launched a diphtheria vaccination campaign in war-torn Yemen targeting over 2.8 million children between the ages of six weeks and 15 years.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said over 4,000 Yemenis have got diphtheria since 2017 and more than 200 have died, also adding that preliminary data from the World Health Organization and UNICEF report indicates that over one million children have been vaccinated within the first five days of the campaign.
Rights groups and humanitarian agencies say the humanitarian crisis in Yemen is largely man-made, caused by the upheaval of war.
A report by the International Red Cross this year warned 24 million Yemenis, or 80 percent of the population, need humanitarian aid, while 16 million are living on the verge of famine.
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/indepth/2020/1/2/yemen-in-focus-hundreds-die-as-swine-flu-spreads