A clinic in western Yemen has been inundated with suspected cholera patients following heavy rains and flooding, raising concerns of a major outbreak in the war-torn country.
Hundreds of suspected cases have overwhelmed the facility in Hais, pushing medical staff to their limits as they contend with the outbreak in a region already devastated by nearly a decade of conflict.
Women and children, showing symptoms of cholera, lie attached to intravenous drips to combat severe diarrhea.
“The influx of patients has increased due to the floods and rains in Hais,” said Bakil al-Hadrami, a doctor at a diarrhea treatment center in the town, located about 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of the Red Sea port city of Hodeida.
“The staff on duty are overburdened,” al-Hadrami warned, cautioning that services could collapse “at any moment” if authorities do not intervene, potentially leading to a “medical crisis.”
The United Nations has reported nearly 164,000 suspected cholera cases across Yemen, a number that could rise to 250,000 in the coming weeks if the response is not intensified.
