World Health Organization (WHO) has said the number of suspected cases of cholera resulting from an epidemic in war-torn Yemen has reached 500,000. <br/><br/>It said at least 1,975 people have died since the waterborne disease began to spread rapidly at the end of April. According to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 41percent of those who have been infected have been children. <br/><br/>WHO said that the disease spread due to deteriorating hygiene and sanitation conditions and disruptions to the water supply. More than 14 million people are cut off from regular access to clean water and sanitation in Yemen, and waste collection has ceased in major cities. <br/><br/>Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholera.