Infectious disease outbreaks in the World Health Organization Eastern Mediterranean Region in 2019

Figures & data

Figure 1. Countries of WHO EMR reporting infectious disease outbreaks in 2019.

Figure 2. Distribution of Infection Outbreaks across different countries.

Table 1. Infectious Disease Outbreaks reported in EMR countries in 2019

Disease	Country	First reported case	Last reported case	Total cases	Deaths	CFR (%)
Cholera	Sudan	January	December	346	11	3.2
	Somalia	January	December	3,100	4	0.13
	Yemen	September	December	861,096	1025	0.1
CCHF	Afghanistan	January	December	583	63	10.8
	Pakistan	January	December	75	9	12
Chikungunya	Sudan	September	December	281	5	1.8
Varicella	Pakistan	January	December	1,285	0	-
Dengue fever	Pakistan	August	December	54,079	95	0.2
	Yemen	January	December	71,688	258	0.4
	Sudan	July	December	4,205	13	0.3
Diphtheria	Yemen	January	December	2,020	129	6.4
	Sudan	February	December	93	13	13.98
XDR typhoid Fever	Pakistan	January	December	9,994	0	-
Hepatitis A	Lebanon	August	December	426	-	-
HIV/AIDS	Pakistan	April	December	1,228	-	-
Measles	Lebanon	January	December	1,067	-	-
MERS	Oman,	27 January	18 Feb	13	4	30.8
	Qatar	5 Dec	5 Dec	3	-	-
	Saudi Arabia	January	December	205	52	25.4
	United Arab Emirates	7 Oct	29 Dec,	2	0	-
Poliomyelitis (WPV1)	Afghanistan	January	December	29	0	-
	Pakistan	January	December	147	0	-
Poliomyelitis (cVDPV2)	Pakistan	January	December	22	0	-
RVF	Sudan	January	December	548	11	2.0
Totals				1012535	1692	0.167%

Table 2. Summary of WHO support to EMR outbreaks, 2019

Disease	Country	Type of Support
Cholera	Sudan	Implementation of WASH activities
	Somalia	Surveillance through an electronic system—EWARN
	Yemen	Disease Surveillance through EWARN Provision of test kits Mapping of hotspots WASH activities Oral cholera vaccine administration to high-risk populations Provision of drugs and case management training Deployment of 10 experts Case management training and laboratory investigation Early warning system surveillance (eDEWS)
CCHF	Afghanistan	Enhancement of coordination between relevant sectors for an integrated response to the outbreak Drafting of operational plan for an accelerated response Enhanced surveillance system Information, education and communication
	Pakistan	Capacity building for laboratory confirmation of suspected cases Provision of laboratory kits Central laboratory training
Chikungunya	Sudan	Capacity-building for laboratory confirmation of suspected cases Provision of testing kits, Health awareness and risk communication materials vector control activities,
Chickenpox (Varicella Zoster)	Pakistan	Deployment of laboratory experts (1) and epidemiologists (2) Laboratory capacity strengthening at central level Epidemiology and data management Rotational deployment of experts from WHO EMRO
Dengue fever	Pakistan	Case diagnosis and management guidelines Coordination of delivery of medical supplies Deployment of experts for case management, laboratory investigation
	Yemen	Disease surveillance through eDEWS Regular technical and financial support
	Sudan	Technical and logistical support for the outbreak Hotspot mapping Deployment of epidemiologists, lab specialists and clinicians
Diphtheria	Yemen	Disease surveillance Laboratory confirmation of suspected cases Provision of logistical and technical support
	Sudan	Provision of diphtheria antitoxin doses Provision of case management guidelines
XDR typhoid Fever	Pakistan	Laboratory confirmation of suspected cases Preparation of case management guidelines
Hepatitis A	Lebanon	Surveillance and confirmation of cases
HIV/AIDS	Pakistan	Provision of testing kits and funds for antiretroviral drugs Deployment of experts in HIV care Laboratory support
Measles	Lebanon	Enhancement of surveillance systems EPI polio doses, Supplementary immunisation campaigns
Poliomyelitis (WPV1)	Afghanistan	regular surveillance for identification of hotspots
	Pakistan	regular surveillance for identification of hotspots
Poliomyelitis (cVDPV2)	Pakistan	Surveillance and testing of sewage water and environmental samples for WPV subtypes and hotspots
RVF	Sudan	Training of staff in case diagnosis, laboratory testing, and case management

Data availability statement

The data and materials are available on the WHO EMR website https://www.emro.who.int/pandemic-epidemic-diseases/information-resources/weekly-epidemiological-monitor-2019.html.