Lebanon inspecting new suspected cases of cholera

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s health minister has said the authorities are inspecting new suspected cases of cholera, less than a day after confirming its first case of the illness in the country since 1993. Caretaker Health Minister Firas Abiad said at a news conference on Friday that the country documented a second confirmed case, and alongside U.N. agencies have been working to ensure that water supplies are safe in the cash-strapped country. The developments take place amid Lebanon’s spiraling economy, which has plunged three-quarters of its population into poverty. Rampant power cuts, water shortages, and skyrocketing inflation have deteriorated living conditions for millions. Lebanon’s cholera cases come one month after an outbreak rocked neighboring Syria.