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No cholera threat among Syrian refugees in Turkey (exclusive)

Türkiye Materials 28 October 2015 18:06 (UTC +04:00)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.28

By Orkhan Guluzade - Trend:

There is no threat of spread of cholera among Syrian refugees in Turkey, the country's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) told Trend Oct.28.

AFAD is engaged in distribution of Syrian refugees.

Syrian refugees arriving in Turkey, pass medical check-up on the border, according to AFAD.

Earlier, WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said his agency had received reports of a suspected cholera case in rural Aleppo, northern Syria, involving a 5-year-old boy, who had died before an appropriate stool sample could be taken for confirmative testing.

Lindmeier added that specialists are studying the causes of the infection and the possible consequences in Aleppo.

Over 20,000 Aleppo residents headed to the Turkish border after the start of the Russian military operations in Syria Sept.30.

Currently, the number of Syrian refugees in Turkey exceeds 2 million. Around 300,000 people live in the Syrian refugee camps, while the others are scattered throughout the Turkish provinces. Currently, 40,000 Syrian refugees are in Istanbul alone.

Turkey has spent $6 billion so far for Syrian refugees, according to AFAD.

Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The short incubation period of 2 hours to 5 days, is one factor that triggers the potentially explosive pattern of outbreaks.

Edited by SI

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Follow the author on Twitter: @o_quluzade

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