Dengue fever finds breeding ground in Yemen
Thousands have died in Yemen's five year conflict but now a new killer has found a fertile breeding ground in a country decimated by war.
In the port city of Hodeidah, Mohammed Hashem's daughter is one of tens of thousands across the country battling dengue fever.
(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) FATHER OF DENGUE PATIENT, MOHAMMED HASHEM, SAYING:
"As a father, I have the right to worry about my daughter. Since yesterday her temperature hasn't dropped, it hasn't gone down. They gave her some medications, but she only got a little bit better."
Dengue is the world's fastest spreading mosquito-borne disease.
It causes flu like symptoms and a severe form can result in internal bleeding.
Medical staff in Yemen say the disease is thriving among crowded populations displaced and weakened by war, and living in unsanitary conditions.
People can also struggle to reach clinics.
Makeyah al-Islimy is head of a medical center in the city of Hajjah.
(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HEAD OF MEDICAL CENTER IN ISLIM, HAJJAH, MAKEYAH AL-ISLIMY, SAYING:
"We hear of people that are brought to the centers already dead because of transportation difficulties, and not arriving at the right time, or even sometimes dying inside the village because like I told you, you could have a family of 15, all suffering from Dengue fever. Who will take care of who?"
The World Health Organization says 59,486 suspected cases, including 219 deaths, were recorded in the first 11 months of the year - but cautioned that data collection is challenging in the prevailing conditions.
