Cholera outbreak in Syria amid humanitarian crisis: the epidemic threat, future health implications, and response strategy – a review

Frontiers in Public Health

Public Health

Alese Oluwatobi¹  Temitope Olumuyiwa Ojo²  Stanley Chinedu Eneh³  David Chinaecherem Innocent⁴  Sofya Admad⁵  Abubakar Nazir⁶  Francisca Ogochukwu Onukansi⁷ 

[1] Community Health Department, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria;Community Health Department, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria;Community Health Department, Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria;Community Health Department, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria;Oli Health Magazine Organization (OHMO), Kigali, Rwanda;Centre for Infectious Diseases Research (CIDR), Nigeria Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria;Department of Public Health, Federal University of Technology Owerri, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria;Medical Relief for Syria, Al-Hasakah, Syria;Sociology Department, Damascus University, Damascus, Syria;Oli Health Magazine Organization (OHMO), Kigali, Rwanda;Department of Medicine, King Edward Medical University, Lahore, Pakistan;Oli Health Magazine Organization (OHMO), Kigali, Rwanda;Department of Public Health, Federal University of Technology Owerri, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria;

关键词: cholera;    outbreak;    conflict;    chlorination of water;    war & Pollution;    humanitarian crisis;    Syria;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpubh.2023.1161936

 received in 2023-02-08, accepted in 2023-06-02,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

The war in Syria, which started over 11 years ago, has devastated the country’s water sources, healthcare system, and other vital facilities for healthy living. The country is vulnerable to outbreaks, especially epidemic-prone ones like cholera, due to its fragile health system. Syria experienced its last hit of cholera in 2009, which led to the deaths of several Syrian children and affected about 1,000 people. The current cholera resurgence in Syria calls for public concern. Considering the poor access to clean water, the forced relocation of people, and other destruction caused by the war, these factors have exposed Syrian children to infectious diseases like cholera. We argued for more efforts toward the implementation of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in the country. We also pointed out the need for proper education and sensitization campaigns using all available resources to educate the populace, mass chlorination of wells, mapping vulnerable areas, and implementing WASH while encouraging vaccination coverage for cholera as a strategy to reduce its incidence. Improving the national surveillance systems will aid in the timely and appropriate reporting of any outbreak. Again, more negotiations should be done to seek a lasting solution to ending the war and restoring peace and serenity in the country.

【 授权许可】

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Copyright © 2023 Eneh, Admad, Nazir, Onukansi, Oluwatobi, Innocent and Ojo.