HAIS
\nA clinic in western Yemen has been inundated with suspected cholera patients after heavy rains and flooding sparked fears of a major outbreak in the impoverished and war-ravaged country.
\nWith hundreds of suspected cases overwhelming the facility in Hais, medical staff are stretched to the limit as they battle the outbreak in a region already hit by nearly a decade of war. Women and children lie attached to intravenous drips to combat diarrhoea, a symptom of what medics fear is cholera.
\n\u201cThe influx of patients has increased due to the floods and rains in Hais,\u201d said Bakil al-Hadrami, a doctor at a diarrhoea treatment centre in the town, about 120 kilometres south of the Red Sea port city of Hodeida.
\n\u201cThe staff on duty are overburdened\u201d and services could collapse \u201cat any moment\u201d, he said from the clinic, warning of a \u201cmedical crisis\u201d if the authorities do not intervene.
\nThere are nearly 164,000 suspected cholera cases across Yemen, a figure that could climb to 250,000 in the coming weeks if the response is not bolstered, according to the United Nations.
\nHais, controlled by Yemen\u2019s internationally recognised government, was hard hit by flooding that has killed around 60 people and impacted 268,000 others in the Arabian Peninsula\u2019s poorest country since late July.
\nLandslides triggered by flash floods in Al-Mahwit province, west of the rebel-held capital Sanaa, destroyed at least seven homes leaving at least 24 people missing on Wednesday, a police statement quoted by rebel media said.
\nDevastated by the war that has ravaged medical infrastructure, Hais is now bracing for a new crisis after the floods which can carry water-borne diseases.
\n\u201cThe recent [cholera] wave\u2026 has been exacerbated by heavy rains and subsequent flooding, increasing the risk of water contamination,\u201d the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said in a recent report.
\nThe Hais clinic received 530 suspected cholera cases between August 1 and 18, Hadrami said. Authorities have only been able to confirm three positive cases after samples were sent to a lab in nearby Taiz, he said, amid limited testing capabilities.
\n\u201cThis is evidence that the cholera epidemic is present and spreading within Hais,\u201d Hadrami said. \u201cThe situation will only get worse and worse.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
HAIS A clinic in western Yemen has been inundated with suspected cholera patients after heavy rains and flooding sparked fears of a major outbreak in the impoverished and war-ravaged country. With hundreds of suspected cases overwhelming the facility in Hais, medical staff are stretched to the limit as they battle the outbreak in a region […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":428047,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-428008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n