WHO fears that cholera may spread in Mariupol

Alona Mazurenko - Tuesday, 17 May 2022, 22:28

WHO Regional Emergency Director Dorit Nitzan has said that infectious diseases, particularly cholera, could spread in Mariupol owing to a severely damaged water supply system.

Source: WHO Regional Emergency Director Dorit Nitzan at a press conference in Kyiv on 17 May, Radio Svoboda

What Dr Nitzan said: Dr Nitzan said that WHO had received information from NGOs working in Mariupol that the streets were like a swamp and wastewater was mixed with drinking water.

There was a massive risk that numerous infectious diseases, including cholera, would spread. Dr Nitzan recalled that there were cholera cases in Mariupol until 2011, adding that WHO was getting ready.

Details: The water supply in Mariupol has been "partially restored" but many supply pipes have been destroyed, Dr Nitzan said.

She added that WHO was preparing cholera kits and vaccines and was also working with other NGOs to help residents in the occupied area.

Background: The Ukrainian authorities have received indirect confirmation that the occupiers plan to hand over Mariupol - which has almost been completely destroyed by Russian shelling - to the "Kadyrovites" (Chechen paramilitaries supporting the Russian Armed Forces).