Cholera found in a water reservoir in the Jordan Valley: Stop the flow to the Sea of ​​Galilee

November 11, 2022   

The cholera bacterium was detected last night (Thursday) in the Yarmukhim water reservoir in the Jordan Valley. This is the first time the bacterium has been detected in Israel, since the outbreak of cholera in Syria and Lebanon. The Ministry of Health estimates that the source of the bacterium is likely contamination in Syria due to a cholera outbreak there. With the spread of the disease in Syria, the Ministry's Health Intelligence Unit, which identified the potential threat, began monitoring the outbreak and analyzing, together with professionals at the Ministry of Health, the Water Authority and Mekorot, the risk to the country's residents. Thanks to the early detection, the Ministry of Health, together with the Water Authority and Mekorot, took a number of actions to protect the water sources that reach Israeli citizens - including temporarily stopping the flow of the Yarmukhim into the Sea of ​​Galilee and chlorinating the water. In addition, environmental cholera testing capabilities were built in public health laboratories to enable constant monitoring of possible water contamination. It is important to note that at this stage, no danger to public health has been identified in Israel - due to the early identification and the significant and rapid steps taken to counter this threat in advance, and due to the high quality of Israel's sanitation, water, sewage and health infrastructure. The ministry is also monitoring possible contamination of water sources from Lebanon - the Hatzbani, which are negative for the toxin at this stage. "The Ministry of Health continues to monitor and sample water sources, including the Hatzbani Stream, and will update the public as necessary," the ministry's statement said. "The Ministry of Health has updated the Jordanian Ministry of Health and the Palestinian Authority on the findings from the Yarmuk water and the actions taken to protect public health." Cholera is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, which can cause acute diarrheal disease manifested by watery diarrhea. The disease can manifest itself in mild symptoms or in an asymptomatic form, but 1 in 10 infected people may develop severe illness to the point of death.

According to data published by the UN's UNICEF, more than 20,000 cases of cholera have been recorded throughout Syria, and dozens of infected people have already died as a result of the disease.

Cholera has spread from there to its western neighbor, Lebanon, where over a million Syrian refugees fleeing the war are staying. Hundreds of cases of the disease have been recorded in the Land of Cedars for the first time since the 1990s, as well as several deaths.