The outbreak of the cholera epidemic and viral hepatitis in Lebanon, especially in the north, has left a shadow of concern over the citizens. They have been busy tracking the number of infections officially registered by the Ministry of Health and those suspicious of those infections that are steadily rising, and learning about the measures to be taken to prevent it. While the Lebanese are unanimously agreed that the transmission of cholera to Lebanon came from Syria as a result of the large outbreak, they add other reasons, including those related to the dilapidated infrastructure, including electricity and water cuts and the lack of maintenance of sewage networks, which sometimes leads to contamination of household water with sewage and opens The door on the possibility of the emergence of viruses and other epidemics.
Medical sources told “Nidaa Al-Watan” that no case of injury has been recorded in Sidon and its region so far, and stated that the Sidon Municipality will organize a Disaster and Crisis Risk Management Cell in the Federation of Saida Municipalities Al-Zahrani, in cooperation with the Association of NGOs and the Health Committee in “Sidon Face”, a meeting with Member of the Parliamentary Health Committee, MP Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Bizri (specialist in microbial diseases) to discuss ways to confront the epidemic and limit its spread in the event of an outbreak.
Al-Bizri, who confirmed the presence of confirmed cases of cholera, along with suspected cases that are being tracked, accompanied by the Director of the Disaster and Crisis Cell in the Union of Sidon Municipalities – Al-Zahrani, Eng. Mustafa Hijazi, inspected the sewage treatment center in Siniq, where he was received by the head of the Central Administration Department, Dr. Hussein Al-Ghoul and Eng. Deeb Mitri, the project manager and head of the sanitation department at the North Litani Foundation, Munira Haidar, explained the difficulties and problems faced by the center and the sewage network in the city and its surroundings, and the mechanism for addressing them.
Al-Bizri considered that the circumstances that dictated this visit are related first to the situation of the city of Sidon and its region, which suffers from the problem of sewage and sea water pollution, and the inability to operate the treatment center and pumping centers due to the loss of the ability to carry out maintenance work and the replacement of some expired parts and mechanisms, in addition to the power outage. About the treatment center and pumping stations, stressing that the risk of epidemics entering Lebanon, including the cholera epidemic that we witnessed in the Bekaa and the North, is related to the safety and effectiveness of the infrastructure, especially sewage, usable water, electric power, and waste treatment and collection.
The Secretary of the “National Institutions Caucus” in the Sidon region, Majed Hamto, announced the readiness of the assembly to play its required role in protecting society from epidemics, and focuses on three axes: raising awareness, setting its capabilities to act and participating in any emergency plan in the city, and placing health centers in service and disposal.
Camp fears
But the greatest fear lies in the infiltration of cholera into Palestinian camps, especially to UNRWA schools, where students are overcrowded in classrooms, water is scarce, and toilets are not cleaned, which requires a proactive plan to avoid drinking from the bitter cup. The Secretary of the “Palestinian People’s Committees” in the camps of Lebanon, Engineer Abdel Moneim Awad, told “Nidaa Al-Watan”: “So far, no cholera infection has been recorded in all Palestinian camps in Lebanon, and we hope that we will not record any infection, and the committees announced the medical alert through the” Health Committee. » which consisted of doctors and nurses and took the initiative, held meetings and communicated with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society to develop a proactive plan to avoid the spread of this epidemic. We are currently focusing on raising awareness, especially with regard to women, children and school students, and we asked the Director of Education at UNRWA, Mirna Shamma, to address the problem of water scarcity and to pay attention to the cleanliness of toilets.”
On the other hand, the head of the UNRWA health department in Lebanon, Dr. Abdel Hakim Shana’a, assured through “Nida Al-Watan” that UNRWA has developed an integrated plan between the various departments to protect the camps from the outbreak, including conducting awareness campaigns on social media and publishing short videos about the disease, its causes and prevention. From it, confirming that cholera is a bacteria and can be treated and its medicines are available, and calling on the people of the camps to take precautions, the most important of which is personal hygiene and washing hands before and after eating and after entering the bathroom. Shana’a explained that the health program works to provide water in all schools, ensure that it is not contaminated, and increase the number of workers in them to regularly take care of hygiene, especially toilets, and report any sick case and transfer it to the clinic for examination by the specialized doctor, while the engineering department examines artesian wells to ensure that they are free. of germs, putting “chlorine” and monitoring it regularly, removing waste daily, spraying pesticides, and placing materials to prevent the spread of bacteria in waste collection places and containers. As for the health department, it is ready to receive any case and medicines are available inside clinics, including for diarrhea, dehydration and infections, which are free of charge, or transfer any sick case to the hospital. As determined by the Lebanese Ministry of Health.