Tourists fall ill with cholera after drinking holy water that's meant to heal (2025)

Multiple British nationals fell ill with a drug-resistant strain of cholera after drinking holy water abroad.

In Ethiopia, almost half of the country’s population – nearly 60,000,000 – don’t have access to clean water.

But thousands make pilgrimages to Ethiopia, where holy water is believed to have healing powers.

The Brits who fell ill with cholera had consumed water brought back from the Bermel Giorgis, a holy site in the country.

The UK Health Security Agency said four people ranging in age from their 20s to 60s became infected.

The travellers had returned to the UK from Ethiopia between January and mid-February of this year when there had been a resurgence in cholera outbreaks in the country.

‘Three were admitted to the hospital and reported symptoms of watery diarrhoea, vomiting and dehydration, one needed intensive care for fluid resuscitation,’ Eurosurveillance reported.

All four made a full recovery, but other cases in Germany have also been linked to the holy site in Ethiopia, where it’s common for visitors to bring back bottles of the ‘healing’ water.

The latest outbreak in Ethiopia began in 2022, and nearly 60,000 cases and 726 deaths have been reported, according to Oxford.

Cholera is generally contracted from contaminated food or water and spreads in residential areas that lack proper sewerage networks or mains drinking water.

It can take anywhere between 12 hours and five days for a person to show symptoms after ingesting contaminated food or water.

WaterAid Ethiopia’s Country Director, Yaekob Metena, told Metro: ‘When a community has little choice but to drink water from unprotected sources such as rivers and shallow wells, the results can be utterly devastating as preventable diseases can thrive.

‘In Ethiopia, 59.8 million people – almost half the population – don’t have clean water close to home. WaterAid’s vital programmes increase communities’ access to clean water and raise levels of hygiene awareness.

‘However, world leaders have the power to make cholera a thing of the past by making sure everyone, everywhere has access to clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene.

‘No one should die of a preventable disease in this day and age; and it all starts with clean water.’

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