UNITED NATIONS, April 18 (Xinhua) -- A spiraling epidemic with mass morbidity and death is feared in war-torn Yemen where nearly 223,000 suspected cases of cholera have been reported so far this year, a UN spokesman said Thursday.

This is three times the number of cases reported during the same period last year and nearly a quarter of cases are children under five years old, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Dujarric warned of the possibility of "a spiraling epidemic with mass morbidity and death if current trends are not quickly brought under control."

"Agencies are particularly concerned because this increase has come months before the usual spike in cases during the rainy season which takes place in August in Yemen," he said.

Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world and the World Food Programme says it intends to provide 12 million people with monthly food assistance through direct food distributions or vouchers that people can use at retailers in areas where the markets are functioning.

The total population of Yemen is nearly 30 million.

Fighting in Yemen between government and rebel forces already had threatened the country with famine. A partial, shaky cease-fire recently was agreed on to allow humanitarian aid in through key Red Sea ports.