Strange diseases have started spreading in Damascus largely due to the regime institutions neglecting the environmental situation and the condition of the infrastructure which has started to change as a result of the destruction, the spread of garbage, and presence of bodies in areas surrounding Damascus Suburbs.
Pro-regime websites reported from the pro-regime al-Khabar television statements by the Director of the Health Center in al-Assad Suburb of attempts to control the spread of Leishmania were over 150 people had been infected so far.
The Director attributed the increase in the number of cases to the increasing number of new comers arriving at the Suburb from other places due to the ongoing war. The Director’s statement indicates that the regime is not sure of the real reason the disease is spreading and according to comments on Facebook pages, the disease does not appear to be Leishmania.
Some people are saying it is a new disease that has emerged based on the spread of epidemics, garbage and perhaps the regime using internationally prohibited weapons in the areas surrounding the suburb.
Speaking to al-Khabar Television, the Director of the Health Center said they are preparing “a plan to control this disease through drug treatments in the center, the Directorate of Health in coordination with the Health Center spraying inside houses and the municipal council conducting pesticide spraying campaigns in the streets. Also, those infected will be asked to maintain their personal hygiene to ensure the disease does not spread.”
Among the provisions of the plan, the Health Center proposed to distribute mosquito nets to citizens to help control the spread of the disease provoking cynical reactions among citizens.
One of the doctors working at the Health Center commented, “Around forty cases arrived at the Health Center in al-Assad Suburb, and about 100 cases went directly to a nearby hospital.”
Regarding the total number of those infected, the doctor said, “Between 100-150 cases arrived to the hospital and the center since the onset of cases. The spread of the disease peaked after the fifth month, at the beginning of summer, and the instances of this disease are higher in the summer than the winter.”
Syrians fear the spread of catastrophic epidemics as a result of the frenzied war the regime is waging, and their fears are increased by the regime’s inabilities to cope with the spread of such diseases, its weakened medical capabilities and the lack of specialized staff.
