CNN news 12/21 (340 words)

Cholera outbreak threatens world's largest refugee camp

By Radina Gigova, CNN

Updated 2054 GMT (0454 HKT) December 19, 2015

cnn.com

(CNN)Kenya's cholera epidemic has reached the world's largest refugee camp and doctors worry the outbreak could continue to spread.

Seven people have died in Dadaab, in northern Kenya near the border with Somalia, since the outbreak was declared in November, the medical charity Doctors Without Borders, or MSF, said in a statement.

In the last three weeks, more than 300 patients have been admitted to treatment centers, and 30% of those patients were children under 12, according to MSF.

"We are still trying to control the spread," UNHCR spokesman in Kenya Duke Mwancha told CNN on Saturday. UNHCR is the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Lack of proper sanitation and education of the population are among the main challenges in halting infections, Mwancha said. There are are not enough pit latrines in the camp for the size of its population, and people often allow their children play in the mud or in floodwater, he said.

Poor sanitary coverage

Treatment centers have been established throughout the camps but more resources and funding are needed, Mwancha said. "The current situation enables us to have only 50% pit latrine coverage," he said.

The infection spreads through contaminated water or food, and is accelerated by poor hygiene and inadequate sanitation.

"The fact that this outbreak has occurred further highlights the dire hygiene and living conditions in the camp and a lack of proper long-term investment in sanitation services," said Charles Gaudry, head of the MSF mission in Kenya.

With the rainy season making already poor living conditions even worse, doctors and volunteers are concerned the epidemic could continue to spread.

"The rains are exacerbating an already-precarious hygiene situation," said Gaudry. "While immediate measures are now being put in place to address the cholera outbreak, it is crucial also that proper investment is made on a longer term basis to improve living conditions for refugees and prevent future epidemics."

Dadaab is home to more than 330,000 refugees, the majority of them fleeing violence and insecurity in neighboring Somalia, according to the latest UNHCR data.

肯亞霍亂已經波及到全世界最大的難民營，醫生們擔心這波疫情會繼續擴散。

根據無國界醫生組織（或MSF）表示，自11月確定爆發疫情後，靠近索馬利亞邊界，在肯亞北邊的小鎮達達阿布已有7人死亡。

根據MSF顯示，三個星期前，超過300位病患被送到治療中心，其中30%是年紀小於12歲的孩童。

「我們還在努力控制疫情擴散。」星期六時，聯合國難民署（UNHCR）在肯亞的發言人Mwancha告訴CNN。UNHCR專責難民營。

Mwancha認為，阻止疫情最大的挑戰是衛生條件不足及民眾知識缺乏。難民營沒有設置足夠的廁所供民眾使用，而他們時常讓小朋友在爛泥或積水中玩耍。

惡劣的衛生環境環伺

Mwancha說，治療中心雖然已經建立，但難民營尚需相當的資源及資金。「目前狀況只夠我們鋪設50%的廁所。」

霍亂傳染是透過被污染的水或食物，而且經由惡劣的衛生環境及髒亂加速傳染。

「實際上這波疫情爆發可以看出難民營中可怕的衛生及生活環境，還有長期投入公共衛生設施的資金不足。」肯亞MSF的長官Gaudry說。

而雨季使得本來惡劣的生活環境更加糟糕，醫生及志工擔心傳染病會繼續延燒。

「這雨惡化了本來就不好的衛生環境，而落實立即性措施才能因應這波疫情，為了能打造長期基礎改善難民營衛生條件，並防止以後疫情再發生，實施措施及投入適當資金是非常重要的。」Gaudry說。

UNHCR資料顯示，達達阿布是33萬難民們的生活基地，大部分難民是從隔壁暴動不安全的索馬利亞逃過來的。

cholera (n.) 霍亂

epidemic (n.) 傳染病

latrine (n.) 廁所

hygiene (n.) 衛生

dire (adj.) 可怕的

exacerbate (v.) 使...惡化