Lebanon has recorded its first death from cholera as cases surge after an outbreak of the extremely virulent disease in neighbouring Syria, the health ministry said Wednesday.

Lebanon has recorded 26 cases of cholera this month, as the country struggles amid poor sanitation and crumbling infrastructure after three years of unprecedented economic crisis.

"The common point between these cases is that the majority of patients are displaced Syrians," Health Minister Firas Abiad said on Tuesday.

"The absence of basic services, like safe water and sewerage networks, in places where refugees gather, constitutes a fertile ground for the epidemic to spread in Lebanon."

Syria has recorded 41 deaths from cholera and over 700 cases, the country's official SANA news agency reported Tuesday.