Cholera Outbreak in Yemen: A Regional or a Global Health Crisis

Vibrio cholerae (V. cholerae) are Gram - negative, curved, rod - shaped and facultatively anaerobic bacteria classified in Vibrionaceae family. These flagellated bacteria naturally grow and survive in contaminated waters around the world and leads to acute diarrheal infection in small intestine of human (1, 2). Cholera infection has various symptoms, according to severity of the disease, ranging from self - limited diarrhea to lethal diarrhea along with dehydration and shock. In endemic areas, the disease is transmitted from person - to - person and fecal contamination of drinking water and foodstuff with the bacteria. According to the latest reports, every year, there are 3 to 5 million cases of cholera with 100,000 to 120,000 deaths in the world (1, 2). Recently, several cases of V. cholera - related epidemic occurred worldwide for various reasons including Bangladesh cholera following the floods (2004), Zimbabwe (2008 to 2009), and Haiti cholera (2010) following the devastating earthquake (1). In the latest cholera epidemic, Yemen faces the most severe form of disease in the world. Yemen is a war - ravaged country on the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle - East region with a population of 27 million