Thousands of people in Yemen have been diagnosed with dengue fever in the southern part of Yemen. They have been fighting for months between two rival factions, the Shiite rebels and their opponents. This was as reported by international agencies and health officials Thursday.
The World Health Organisation last week said that at least 5,000 people had been diagnosed with the mosquito-borne virus. According to ABC News, the top health officials in the southern port city of Aden, al-Khadr Al-Aswar , stated that mountains of uncollected garbage along with untreated sewage and heat, have contributed to the spread of the deadly virus.
The WHO stated that the last major Yemeni outbreak, that suffered 1500 confirmed cases was back in 2011 in the west of Hodeida governorate.
The continued fighting in Yemen pits the Shiite rebels, also known as the Houthis, and the military units that are loyal to the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh against an array of forces, including the southern separatists, local and tribal militia, Sunni Islamic militants and the loyalists of the internationally recognized president Abed Rabbo Mansouri Hadi.
The unrest in the country has killed more than 1,000 civilians, displaced more than a million and lead to severe shortages of food, water, fuel and electricity. The lack of fuel has also put the garbage trucks out of service, and the mounds of uncollected garbage incubate mosquitoes that carry the virus.
At a press conference that was held by Hamza al-Houthi, the head of the rebel delegation, journalists began arguing, pushing and shoving. A reporter from Aden threw her shoe at al-Houthi, who picked it up and threw it back at her.
U.N brokered talks were still underway in Geneva, where mediators had hoped to secure a cease-fire in time for the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, which began on Thursday.
The pace of the Saudi-led airstrikes sharply declined on Thursday, with only two reported by witnesses in the rebel-held capital, Sanaa, and Aden. Ground fighting continued in several provinces.
