Acute watery diarrhea outbreak reported in Yemen’s Mahra

MAHRA, Aug. 16 (YPA) – A rapidly spreading outbreak has swept through Al-Ghaydah, the capital of Saudi-controlled Mahra province in eastern Yemen, causing hundreds of cases of acute watery diarrhea among residents.

The cases involve severe gastrointestinal symptoms, including vomiting, diarrhea, and temperature disturbances, amid an unannounced state of alert in the health sector and overcrowding in hospitals and clinics.

Officials have remained silent about the nature and source of the outbreak.

The lack of official data and clarification has increased concern among residents as infection rates continue to rise.

Local calls have been made for epidemiological surveillance teams to investigate and test water sources to determine the cause and prevent the disease from spreading further.

Medical staff in the city’s hospitals are reportedly facing a continuous influx of patients beyond their operational capacity, while the local health office has provided no official diagnosis indicating whether the infections are linked to contaminated drinking-water networks or a highly contagious intestinal virus.

Doctors have urged residents to take maximum precautions, including boiling drinking water before use and maintaining good hygiene to prevent infection and complications from severe dehydration.

The outbreak follows the deaths of more than nine African migrants and reported illness among nearly 1,300 others suffering from acute watery diarrhea earlier this week at a migrant camp in Al-Saeed district of Shabwa province, amid the Saudi-backed authorities’ inability to provide basic medical supplies.

AA