Qamishli, Syria (North Press) – Beside her child’s bed at al-Slam private Hospital, 32-year-old Roqayia al-Sayegh, resident of the city of Qamishli, trying to touch forehead of her son who suffers from a high temperature.
She expresses her fear of health complications that might make her son’s condition even worse.
Few days ago, al-Sayegh took her child to the hospital after his health condition worsened to be diagnosed later an advanced stage of meningitis.
The mother paid 30.000 Syrian pounds (SYP) as a hospital overnight fee for one night, and 20.000 SYP for medication.
She pointed out that she is forced to keep her child in the hospital till his medical condition gets stable.
Qamishli has witnessed, lately, increasing number of meningitis cases, sun stoke, viral enteritis, dehydration, diarrhea, and poisoning cases, due to the unusual heat rise that exceeds 45° Celsius during this period.
General Directorate of Meteorology of Syria said, on Saturday, that the three upcoming days will witness a noticeable temperature rise in most areas in the country.
Heat waves have become more frequent, more intense, and last longer because of human-induced climate change.
The world has already warmed by about 1.1C since the industrial era began and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to emissions, according to BBC.
The directorate said on its official Facebook account that temperatures is predicted to increase by about 4 to 6 degrees in the next coming two days, and the weather will be dusty and hazy on the eastern areas, Jazira region and the Syrian Dessert.
In the current week, temperatures in Qamishli mounted to 50 degrees.
40-year-old Sahar Abdullaziz came to that same hospital from Tel Hamis north of Qamishli along with her 17-year-old son, who suffers from fever and diarrhea.
The mother says that seven of her children have the same symptoms due to the high temperatures in light of power outage and water shortage.
Areas in northeast Syria are experiencing a reduction in subsidized electricity feeding hours due to decreasing level of Euphrates River water, while electricity hours supplied from generators are limited.
Director of al-Salam Hospital, Dr. Furat al-Maqdisi says that meningitis affection levels differ from one patient to another.
He points out that there are home-treatable cases, and others that should be hospitalized under an intensive care “that may be contagious.”
“Meningitis is a serious infection of the meninges, the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. It is a devastating disease and remains a major public health challenge. The disease can be caused by many different pathogens including bacteria, fungi or viruses,” the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
The bacteria that causes meningitis is transmitted from one person to another through droplets of respiratory or throat secretions from carriers. Close and prolonged contact – such as kissing, sneezing or coughing on someone, or living in close quarters with an infected person, facilitates the spread of the disease, according to the WHO.
In the city of Raqqa, north Syria, an official in the Health Committee in Raqqa, said that the number of meningitis infections reached 386 in May.
Pediatrician, Dr. Asi al-Kayakhi, says that children are the most vulnerable and most likely to get sick with temperature rise diseases “due to their weak immune system.”
He points out due to disability of treating some cases at the clinic; some cases need being transformed to the hospital to be hospitalized and under the supervision of “medical staff.”
The doctor stressed that most patients coming to his clinic in this period suffer from diseases due to increasing temperatures, warning people, especially children and the elderly, of the exposure to the raging sunshine, especially during peak hours,
“This may lead to more health complications,” he said.
With expectations that temperatures will continue to rise further in the coming days, Mariam Ahmad, a woman from Qamishli, fears that health condition of her seven-year-old son, who suffers from meningitis, gets worse.
The mother says that she chose to stay in the hospital, despite of her dire material situation, “but my son’s life is at stake.”
Additionally, she cannot treat her son at home due to power outage.