Number of water-borne illness cases drops in Syria’s Shaddadi
SHADDADI, Syria (North Press) – On Thursday, an official in Shaddadi city, south of Hasakah, said that the health center in the city received less than 100 poisoning cases caused by contaminated water this month.
The number of poisoning cases has decreased to half of what it was in previous months, as the center used to receive more than 200 poisoning cases per month, Ali al-Saeid, an administrator at Shaddadi Health Center, told North Press.
The main reason for the increased number of poisoning cases in the past months was the use of water from al-Hama wells and other unsafe sources after Turkey cut water to the Hasakah region, he added.
Residents of Shaddadi and its countryside are forced to purchase water from private tankers that fill water from the non-potable wells of al-Hama and Shamuka, or which is secured by municipality’s tankers.
Al-Saeid pointed out that there are still tankers that fill non-drinkable water and sell it to people, but the drop in temperatures has helped to reduce the number of cases of diarrhea, dehydration, and enteritis.