BEIRUT - (Xinhua) - Lebanese Caretaker Health Minister Firas Al-Abyad said today (Monday) that cholera epidemics are still in some areas of his country, despite the authorities' ability to limit the spread of the epidemic in cooperation with international organizations.

This came during a tour Al-Abyad made in eastern Lebanon with representatives of partner international organizations in the second phase of the national vaccination campaign against cholera, to follow up on the progress of the campaign.

On December 7, Lebanon concluded the first phase of the national vaccination campaign against cholera, which included 500,000 citizens and refugees in hot spots affected by the disease outbreak.

"We were able to limit the spread of cholera, but the epidemic has not ended yet, so we see some foci here or there, which requires following up our procedures to secure the required protection," Al-Abyadh explained.

He stated that Lebanon currently has 900,000 vaccines from the World Health Organization and they will be used to provide basic protection to limit the spread of cholera in the country.

He pointed out that "the numbers of people infected with the epidemic have become few, but the conditions that allowed cholera to exist among us still exist, including water pollution or the mixing of sewage with drinking water."

He pointed out that "the cholera epidemic is still present in the neighboring countries, and there is a cross-border transmission that requires us to immunize our societies."

He believed that the areas where the epidemic has spread, such as Baalbek, Hermel, the Bekaa Valley and Akkar in eastern and northern Lebanon, are "areas that bear the greatest burden of the Syrian displacement, and the services network in them does not fulfill the purpose required to serve the people."

He called on international organizations to increase support for the areas that host Syrian refugees, especially since tests have shown that there is contamination in some water sources, which could be a gateway to the spread of other epidemics if we do not remedy it.

"We call for more support for Lebanon, because the needs are increasing, especially in light of the presence of camps for the displaced Syrians on our land," he said.

Since the announcement of the first case of cholera on October 6, Lebanon has reported 5,616 suspected cases of cholera, including 666 laboratory-confirmed cases and 23 related deaths.

The emergence and spread of cholera in Lebanon comes at a time when it has been suffering since 2019 from a severe economic crisis that led to an unprecedented financial collapse and a scarcity of fuel, energy and other basic commodities.