Polluted water causes 200 cases of poisoning in Syria’s Hasakah
SHADDADI, Syria (North Press) – A local health official in the city of Shaddadi in the countryside of Hasakah, northeastern Syria, said, the health center in the city received more than 200 cases of poisoning this month as a result of using polluted water.
Ali al-Sa’eed, an official at Shaddadi Health Center, added that the number of poisoning cases is increasing day by day, and symptoms of diarrhea, severe dehydration and enteritis appear among the elderly and children.
He stated to North Press that the main reason is the use of tanker water from Hemma wells and other unsafe sources, after the Turkish-backed armed opposition groups reduced the pumping of water towards Hasakah amid rising temperatures.
The cases are treated in the city’s health center, while severe and dangerous cases are transferred to hospitals in the city of Hasakah.
Residents of Shaddadi city and its countryside depend on purchasing water from private tankers that fill it from non-potable wells of Hemma and Shamoka, or that are secured by municipal tankers.
Most of the cases that visit the health center are children, and the situation has become tragic, as there are children who do not have immunity to bear acute diarrhea, dehydration and enteritis, according to al-Sa’eed.