Story highlights Charity: Malnourished children are at least three times more likely to die if they get cholera

World Health Organization reports

(CNN) More than a million children already suffering from acute malnutrition are at risk from a cholera outbreak sweeping war-torn Yemen, charity Save the Children warned Wednesday.

The charity said it was sending more health experts to the worst-affected areas as it tries to ease the crisis. A ravaged health care system, devastated infrastructure and near famine -- the results of a bloody civil war that began in March 2015 -- have all contributed to the spread of the disease.

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Data analysis shows more than a million acutely malnourished children under the age of 5 -- almost 200,000 of them with severe acute malnutrition -- are living in areas with high levels of infection, Save the Children said.

Malnourished children are at least three times more likely to die if they contract cholera because of their reduced immune systems, the charity said.

The illness, which is spread through contaminated water and causes diarrhea, is easily treated if basic healthcare is in place. But where that is lacking, its symptoms worsen malnutrition even in those who survive the infection, pushing them closer to starvation.

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