Whole of Syria Cholera Outbreak Situation Report no. 21 Issued 23 November 2023

Epidemiological Overview

Between 25th of August 2022 and 21st of October 2023 (epi-week 42), 217,512 suspected Acute watery Diarrhea (AWD)/cholera cases have been reported from all 14 governorates of Syria, with 106 associated deaths at a case fatality rate of 0.05%.

During this reporting period, epiweeks 36-42, 28,138 new suspected cases were detected. One new death was reported from Al Bab, northern Aleppo, of one-year-old female with negative culture result of cholera and positive RDT.

The most affected governorates to date are Idleb (90,768 cases, 41.7%), Aleppo (75,332 cases, 34.6%), Ar-Raqqa (23,869 cases, 11%), Deir-Ez-Zor (20,809 cases, 9.6%), and Al-Hasakeh (5,890 cases, 2.7%). Since the beginning of the outbreak, 33,261 suspected cases and 10 AWD related deaths were reported from internally displaced persons (IDP) camps across Syria.

To date, 9,335 samples have been tested with rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), with 2,145 testing positive; the overall proportion of RDTpositive cases is 23%. Additionally, 9,528 cases have been tested by culture, out of which 1,498 tested positive for Vibrio Cholera; the cumulative positivity rate by culture is 16%. During this reporting period, 873 samples were tested by culture with 112 cases testing positive with a positivity rate of 12.8%.