Syria receives cholera vaccines ahead of inoculation drive

By ALBERT AJI
Associated Press

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria has received two million doses of cholera vaccines, the first to reach the war-torn country during a monthslong outbreak. The Syrian Health Ministry on Wednesday said the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF and international organization Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance delivered the vaccines. They also announced a two-week vaccine drive starting in December in areas most affected by the illness in the Aleppo countryside, Deir Ezzor, Hasakah and Raqqa. The war-torn country has been suffering from a cholera outbreak documenting 1,556 cases and 49 deaths since September. Officials believe the source of the outbreak is linked to to people drinking unsafe water from the Euphrates River and using contaminated water to irrigate crops, resulting in food contamination.