Nearly 110,000 suspected cases of cholera have been reported in Yemen since the beginning of January, including 190 related deaths, the UN said Monday (March 25th).
The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said children under the age of five make up nearly a third of 108,889 cases which were reported between January 1st and March 17th, AFP reported.
OCHA said the spike, which comes two years after Yemen suffered its worst cholera outbreak, was concentrated in six governorates, including in the Red Sea port of al-Hodeidah and Sanaa province.
Early rains could be blamed for the recent increase in suspected cholera cases, it said.
"The situation is exacerbated by poor maintenance of sewage disposal systems in many of the affected districts, the use of contaminated water for irrigation, and population movements," OCHA added.
