[Leish-l] Fwd: PRO/EDR> Leishmaniasis - Syria (03)

[jeffreyj at usp.br]

> From: < promed at promedmail.org >
> Date: 2015-12-10 18:39 GMT-02:00
> Subject: PRO/EDR> Leishmaniasis - Syria (03)
> To: promed-post at promedmail.org , promed-edr-post at promedmail.org

> LEISHMANIASIS - SYRIA (03)
> **************************
> A ProMED-mail post
> < http://www.promedmail.org >
> ProMED-mail is a program of the
> International Society for Infectious Diseases
> < http://www.isid.org >

> Date: Wed 9 Dec 2015
> Source: Inverse.com [edited]
> <
> https://www.inverse.com/article/8981-isis-occupied-syria-is-being-attacked-by-a-flesh-eating-leishmaniasis
> >

> The total collapse of the Syrian health infrastructure has led to the
> spread of diseases, including polio, measles, and now, cutaneous
> leishmaniasis (CL).

> The most common form of leishmaniasis, CL causes skin lesions and
> ulcers to develop on the body, very often leaving scars and serious
> disability to the victim. Also known as the "Aleppo Boil," the
> disease
> is reportedly spreading in the rural areas of ISIS-controlled Syria.

> "As a result of abominable acts by ISIS that included the killing of
> innocent people and dumping their corpses in the streets, this is the
> leading factor behind the rapid spread of leishmaniasis disease,"
> said
> Dilqash Isa, head of the Kurdish Red Crescent, to the Kurdish media
> network
> Rudaw [see comment below].

> Leishmaniasis in Syria is unfortunately not new. Previous to the
> civil
> war in Syria, CL was a documented yet well-controlled disease --
> since
> the outbreak of war it has increased 10-fold. Syria currently has the
> highest estimated case counts of CL in the world.

> The Syrian Ministry of health recorded 41 000 cases in the 1st 2
> quarters of 2013 alone. It is currently unknown how many cases exist
> in the region.

> CL is caused when the Leishmania parasites are transmitted by the
> bite
> of infected sandflies.

> Lack of doctors and drugs
> --------
> In Syria, according to the World Health Organization, at least 160
> doctors have been killed and hundreds of others have been jailed as
> of
> [2014]. Additionally, there has been an emigration of an estimated 80
> 000 doctors. Health officials estimate that the availability of
> pharmaceuticals that are locally produced has been reduced to only 10
> percent of the previous stockpile -- a major shortage of necessary
> medications.

> "Rather than providing a safe place of care and refuge, the Syrian
> health care system has been integrated into the civil war
> battlefield," writes the authors of a 2014 paper published in PLOS:
> Pathogens. "The shattered medical infrastructure, the exodus of
> health
> care workers, and the deterioration of immunization programs have
> created a dangerous vacuum in essential health care provision."

> The threat of diseases like CL poses a danger to other countries as
> well -- as untreated refugees seek shelter in neighboring nations,
> the
> disease spreads. Before 2008 there had been no cases of CL in
> Lebanon;
> by 2013 there had been 1033 cases confirmed. Of those infected, 96.6
> percent were Syrian refugees.

> --
> Communicated by:
> ProMED-mail
> < promed at promedmail.org >

> [ProMED has previously posted information on the increasing number of
> cases of cutaneous leishmanaisis in both government- and
> ISIS-controlled areas (see below). The spread of the disease into
> neighboring countries -- especially Turkey-- has also been reported,
> but the data from Syria are new.

> Contrary to the report above, it is not correct that leishmanaisis
> can
> be spread by corpses. The sandflies become infected from feeding on
> rodents (the main reservoir) and infected people. Sandflies do not
> feed on corpses, but the unhygienic conditions increase the breeding
> of sandflies; at the same time the population of the rodent reservoir
> is expanding, increasing transmission.

> The exodus of physicians as described here and the lack of drugs
> further emphasize the magnitude of the humanitarian catastrophe in
> Syria. - Mod.EP

> A HealthMap/ProMED-mail map can be accessed at:
> < http://healthmap.org/promed/p/86 >.]

> [See Also:
> Leishmaniasis - Syria (02): (TD): government troops:
> http://promedmail.org/post/20151123.3813120
> Leishmaniasis - Syria: (RA) ISIS-held area:
> http://promedmail.org/post/20150403.3275924
> 2013
> ----
> Leishmaniasis - Syria (07): Turkey ex Syria, refugee camps
> http://promedmail.org/post/20130831.1915697
> Leishmaniasis - Syria (06): Iraq ex Syria, refugee camp
> http://promedmail.org/post/20130717.1830512
> Leishmaniasis - Syria (05): (HL)
> http://promedmail.org/post/20130607.1760836
> Leishmaniasis - Syria (04): comment on canine reservoir
> http://promedmail.org/post/20130420.1660409
> Leishmaniasis - Syria (03): Turkey ex Syria
> http://promedmail.org/post/20130409.1633859
> Leishmaniasis - Syria (02)
> http://promedmail.org/post/20130328.1608713
> Leishmaniasis - Syria: RFI
> http://promedmail.org/post/20130227.1562934
> 2012
> ----
> Leishmaniasis, tuberculosis - Syria (02): comment
> http://promedmail.org/post/20121227.1471041
> Leishmaniasis, tuberculosis - Syria
> http://promedmail.org/post/20121226.1470184
> Leishmaniasis - UK ex Afghanistan: military
> http://promedmail.org/post/20120108.1003634
> 2010
> ----
> Leishmaniasis - Afghanistan (03): (HR)
> http://promedmail.org/post/20101106.4015
> Leishmaniasis - Afghanistan http://promedmail.org/post/20101016.3750
> 2009
> ----
> Leishmaniasis - Iraq (MA) http://promedmail.org/post/20090521.1904
> 2008
> ----
> 2008 Leishmaniasis - Iraq: (Qadisiyah)
> http://promedmail.org/post/20080219.0674
> 2007
> ----
> Leishmaniasis - Afghanistan http://promedmail.org/post/20070508.1487
> 2005
> ----
> Leishmaniasis - Iraq (Baqubah)
> http://promedmail.org/post/20050406.0989
> 2004
> ----
> Leishmaniasis - Iraq: U.S. military (04)
> http://promedmail.org/post/20040419.1091
> 2003
> ----
> Leishmaniasis - Iraq: U.S. military
> http://promedmail.org/post/20031210.3026
> Leishmaniasis - Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan: military
> http://promedmail.org/post/20031024.2669
> Leishmaniasis - Afghanistan http://promedmail.org/post/20030909.2267
> Leishmaniasis - Afghanistan (07)
> http://promedmail.org/post/20020703.4662
> Leishmaniasis - Iraq: comments (02)
> http://promedmail.org/post/20030612.1445
> Leishmaniasis - Iraq: comments
> http://promedmail.org/post/20030602.1348
> Leishmaniasis - Iraq: RFI http://promedmail.org/post/20030531.1331
> 2002
> ----
> Leishmaniasis - Afghanistan (04)
> http://promedmail.org/post/20020523.4304
> Leishmaniasis - Afghanistan (03)
> http://promedmail.org/post/20020515.4212
> Leishmaniasis - Afghanistan (03)
> http://promedmail.org/post/20020512.4178
> Leishmaniasis - Afghanistan (02)
> http://promedmail.org/post/20020511.4161
> Leishmaniasis - Afghanistan (Kabul): alert
> http://promedmail.org/post/20020508.4134
> 2001
> ----
> Leishmaniasis, suspected - Iraq
> http://promedmail.org/post/20010917.2245 ]
> .................................................sb/ep/pg/jw
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