Speech #1140080884

Speaker. during the last several years. conflicts in the Middle East have cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. primarily in Syria. Iraq. and Yemen. As a result of conflicts in these countries. as well as the influx of refugees from conflict zones into surrounding countries such as Turkey. Jordan. and Lebanon. many of those who die are the victim of disease. Almost 17 million people in the region are in need of humanitarian assistance. including roughly four million refugees who have fled their countries and an additional 13 million people who have left their homes but are internally displaced within their countries. A hearing I convened last week examined the scope of the cholera and other disease threats to determine what can and should be done to control it and minimize their spread beyond the Middle East. The World Health Organization reported the spread of a cholera epidemic that first began in Iraq in 2007 that crossed over into Iran. Syria and is considered the regions greatest. although not only. health threat. These threats are worsened by the targeting of health workers in Syria and an Islamic State that has no experience and little interest in providing social services. Thus. cholera and other diseases are untreated. often unreported and pose a significant health threat in the region due to poor sanitation and overcrowding in areas such as refugee camps. Cholera is an acute diarrheal disease that can cause death within hours if left untreated. Roughly 80% of those who contract the disease do not develop symptoms. leaving some uncertainty about precisely how many people contract the disease annually. Scientists estimate that between 1.4 and 4.3 million people contract cholera annually. of whom 28.000 to 142.000 die. Cholera bacteria are present in the feces of infected people for one to ten days after infection and can be spread to others if they ingest food or water that is contaminated with their fecal matter. The spread of cholera is mostly facilitated by inadequate water and sanitation management and outbreaks are common in areas where basic infrastructure is unavailable. such as urban slums and camps for internally displaced persons and refugees. As devastating as this cholera epidemic has been and can be going forward. we must also remember the MERS epidemic of three years ago. The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. or MERS. is a respiratory illness.