Poor sewage systems face greater damage due to Israeli bombardment causing serious health risks in south Lebanon.

 BEIRUT - There have been up to 30 suspected cases of seasonal typhoid fever in Lebanon over the past six to eight weeks and more are expected, health experts said.

“Of these, only 11 have been confirmed, but all are being closely monitored in hospital,” said Assaad Khoury, a department director in the Lebanese public health ministry.

Initial cases were confirmed by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Early Warning and Response System, a team of health experts set up for the prompt detection of disease outbreaks.

The majority of typhoid cases so far have been in children aged 11 to 16. Although typhoid fever is potentially deadly, Khoury said it was unlikely there would be any fatalities in Lebanon because the condition, if detected, is easily treated with antibiotics. The central authorities have also contacted hospitals and clinics across the country to warn them of the typhoid occurrences.

Typhoid fever is transmitted by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the faeces of an infected person. Typhoid cases are reported every year in Lebanon with the onset of both the rainy season [from October] and the melting of the snow in spring [end of March to April].

“With the autumn rain, and with the melting of the snow in spring, contaminated water from the sewers comes up to ground level,” said Khoury. “At present, there is nothing abnormal about the way in which it is spreading.”

Because of its relation to sewage-contaminated water, typhoid infections have been heavily prevalent in rural, marginalised areas. All confirmed cases so far have been detected in south Lebanon, the southern suburbs of Beirut and in the eastern Beqaa region.

“These areas suffered through the war [between Israel and Hezbollah] more than any other. Damage to sewage systems may, in theory, have exacerbated the problem. The fact remains that in these areas sewage systems were never very good to start with,” said Khoury.

A panel of experts from the health ministry and public, private and teaching hospitals has been holding frequent meetings to minimise a potential surge in typhoid cases in Lebanon.

Steps proposed by the experts include raising awareness of health, food hygiene and general sanitation issues. “We have started asking people, particularly in the villages, to only drink pre-boiled water, and to eat their vegetables cooked,” said Khoury. A media campaign is also being planned, he added.

© IRIN