Some 6,789 living in four Ethiopian regional states have been infected by cholera between January and August this year, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said Thursday.

In a Humanitarian Bulletin report, it said 4,819 cholera cases were reported in Southern regional state, 1,319 in Somali regional states and 651 in Oromia regional state, reports Xinhua.

The drastic lack of safe water supply and sanitation services across most of Ethiopia is forcing populations to resort to the use of unprotected water sources which caused the cholera outbreak, it said.

The twin threats of the rainy season and the COVID-19 pandemic significantly increases the risk of cholera in various parts of Ethiopia, it added.

The report called on the Ethiopian authorities and humanitarian partners to implement some early action measures in very high-risk areas before the cholera outbreak expands to the rest of the country and gets out of control.

Ethiopia has been suffering from recurrent outbreaks of cholera in recent years, leaving hundreds dead and thousands sick.

In recent years, Ethiopian federal and regional health institutions have also been combating cholera outbreaks by treating unhygienic conditions in factories, medical facilities, agricultural areas and restaurants.