Israel halts fruit, vegetable imports from Jordan in fresh cholera scare

There is no indication that fruit and vegetables that have been imported from Jordan are infected with cholera.

AUGUST 12, 2024 11:23

Updated: AUGUST 12, 2024 17:13

The farms host a range of horticultural projects including vegetable and medicinal gardens, fruit and nut orchards, and ecological landscaping. (photo credit: Courtesy Mahaz) — The farms host a range of horticultural projects including vegetable and medicinal gardens, fruit and nut orchards, and ecological landscaping.

(photo credit: Courtesy Mahaz)

As part of routine tests, the Health Ministry found samples positive for cholera in runoff from the Yarmouk River, leading the ministry to stop some imports of fruit and vegetables from Jordan out of an abundance of caution, fearing fruit and vegetables may have been infected with the bacteria.

There is no indication that fruit and vegetables that have been imported from Jordan are infected with cholera, the ministry emphasized, adding that the stop on imports was enacted to allow the ministry to verify that additional produce from Jordan is not infected and to verify that the crops are not watered with the infected water.

There is currently no cholera in Israel because of routine actions by the ministry that include testing the water regularly, it added.

View of the Yarmouk River which runs through Jordan, Syria and Israel. (credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Cholera prognosis

Cholera is a bacterial disease that is spread through contaminated food and water, according to the US Center for Disease Control. Most people who get cholera do not get sick, it added. Although cholera can cause dehydration, severe diarrhea, and, if untreated, death.

Cholera is usually contracted from consuming food or water that has “traces of poop from someone with cholera,” said the CDC.