It is a grim milestone but the cholera outbreak in Yemen has now infected more than 300,000 people.<br /><br />The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) used social media to remind the world of the disaster which has killed 1600. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />#Yemen‘s cholera epidemic continues to spiral out of control. Today, over 300,000 people are suspected to be ill. More than 1,600 have died. pic.twitter.com/YFiaNyujlk— ICRC (@ICRC) July 10, 2017<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />In late June the World Health Organisation declared the epidemic in the war-torn nation, “the worst cholera outbreak in the world.”<br /><br />Over half of the cases are children. The war has been a breeding ground for the disease which spreads by faeces getting into food or water and thrives in places of poor sanitation.<br /><br />The most intense impact has been in areas in the west of the country which have been fiercely contested in the two-year war between a Saudi-led coalition and armed Iran-aligned Houthi rebels.<br /><br />Yemen’s economic collapse means 30,000 healthworkers have not been paid for 10 months so the UN and the WHO have stepped in with aid and by setting up rehydration points . <br /><br />International efforts have helped keep the death rate to a low 0.6 percent of cases, but its a health disaster on top of war, and near famine with the underlying causes showing signs of being resolved.<br />
