The UN estimate that since the fighting in Syria begun two
and a half years ago 100,000 people have been killed by the fighting. Recently
there have also been figures highlighting the number of people presumed to be
killed by chemical weapons, but I haven’t yet come across statistics outlining
the number of casualties taken by secondary effects of the war.
By secondary effects I mean the resultant food shortages,
the lack of water reaching refugee camps and the spread of disease. Before the
reading a article on the New Scientist’s website, I hadn’t considered how the
crisis in Syria was affecting the spread of disease, I’ve now learnt that it
isn’t just the displaced Syrians whose health is being compromised but also the
populations of the neighbouring countries.
The war has disrupted local health services, giving way to a
large outbreak of measles in Northern Syria, further hindering the measles
eradication efforts in the region. Médecins sans Frontières was hard put to
deliver vaccines to the remaining inhabitants. The children arriving in refugee
camps are all receiving vaccines for polio and measles.
These camps however are full to the breaking, unsurprisingly
with a quarter of the Syrian population now displaced, 2 million Syrians now call
these camps home. These cramped conditions have accelerated the spread of:
-
‘lung and gut infections’
-
hepatitis (the
inflammation of the liver, most types are caused by viruses, symptoms include
dark-coloured urine and pale bowel movements, jaundice …)
-
tuberculosis (is caused by bacteria that primarily damage the lungs, the bacteria is
spread by sneezing and coughing, common symptoms include a bad cough, coughing
up blood/mucus, night sweats …)
-
leishmaniasis (a parasitic disease caused by the bite of
infected sand flies, there are several variations of the disease, common forms
include the cutaneous type that causes skin sores and the visceral type which
affects the spleen, liver, and bone marrow)
Neighbouring Jordan has received a large proportion of the
Syrian refugees; tuberculosis was close to eliminated from the country. Similarly
Schistosomiasis had become rare in the regions surrounding Syria.
(An infection caused
by exposure to water sources containing a Schistosoma parasite which
grows into a worm that resides in different body parts depending on its
species, it cans cause fever chills, diarrhoea and can affect urination.)
Furthermore there is worry that there will be more fatal
MERS virus cases due to the weakened condition of the refugees.
(Middle East
Respiratory Syndrome was first reported in 2012 in Saudi Arabia, not much is
known about the virus, however it is known to be a coronavirus meaning they
have distinct “crown- like spikes on their surface. Coronaviruses are
common viruses that most people get some time in their life that cause mild to
moderate upper-respiratory tract illnesses”1)
Within Syria, farmers have stopped vaccinating their
livestock, but have not stopped exporting them. As a result reports of rabies,
bovine TB and other such diseases have already emerged from the produce
recipients.
As seen as 8/09/13
http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/
http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/about/index.htm1
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24157-threatwatch-syrian-refugee-flood-brings-many-dangers.html#.Uit3WmQpZqs,
Syrian refugee flood brings many dangers, 05 September 2013, D.MacKenzie
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