Pollution flowing from Nahal Hazor to the Jordan River and from there to the Sea of Galilee (Yoram Dora)
In the samples conducted by the Ministry of Health in recent days, a positive sample for the cholera bacterium was received from the Yarmochim water reservoir in the north of the country, the ministry said today (Friday).
According to estimates, the source of the bacteria is from contamination in Syria due to the outbreak of cholera in the country that claimed the lives of several people and affected hundreds.
The ministry is also monitoring possible contamination of the water sources from Lebanon (Hatsabani) which are negative at this stage for the toxin.
With the spread of the disease in Syria, the Ministry's "Health Intelligence" system, which identified the potential threat, began to monitor the outbreak and analyze together with the professionals of the Ministry of Health, the Water Authority and sources the risk to the country's residents.
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Suspected contamination was tested (Photo: Walla! NEWS system, Eyal Shapira)
"Thanks to the early detection, the Ministry of Health together with the Water and Sources Authority took a number of actions to protect the water sources that reach the citizens of Israel as a whole, temporarily stopping the flow of the Yarmochim to the Kinneret and chlorinating the water," it said.
"In addition, environmental cholera testing capabilities were built in the public health laboratories to enable regular monitoring of possible water contamination."
They further emphasized that at this stage no danger to public health in Israel has been identified "and this is due to the early detection and the significant and quick steps taken to face this threat ahead of time and due to the quality of Israel's sanitation, water, sewage and health infrastructures".
Cholera is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, which can cause an acute diarrheal disease manifested by watery diarrhea.
The disease can manifest itself in mild symptoms or in an asymptomatic form, but 1 out of 10 infected people may develop severe morbidity to the point of death.
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In September, the United Nations expressed concern about the first outbreak of cholera in Syria in years, stating that the disease poses a "serious threat" to the entire region. According to official sources, the cholera was caused by drinking contaminated water from the Euphrates River, which flows through the districts, and using it in crops. The outbreak is also seen as an indicator to the severe water shortages across Syria caused by climate change and multiple conflicts in recent years. Rising temperatures, below-average rainfall and reduced flow from neighboring Turkey have resulted in critically low levels in the Euphrates. This, combined with widespread damage to supply and sewage infrastructure, has left many of the 5 million Syrians who depend on the river for drinking water and crop irrigation depend on unsafe water sources.This has also caused an increase in dangerous water-borne diseases such as cholera.
"The outbreak poses a serious threat to people in Syria and the region," warned the UN's humanitarian coordinator in Syria, Imran Riza. "Quick and urgent action is needed to prevent further illness and death," he added, appealing to donor countries for urgent additional funding.
The UN said that tests Speed diagnostics, intravenous fluids and antiseptic salts were delivered to health facilities in affected communities and other high-risk areas, such as displaced persons camps.
Clean water is also transported by trucks to the area.
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