Diseases spread in Syria’s Hasakah due to lack of water
HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) — Measles and gastrointestinal infections have spread recently in the town of Tel Tamr, northern Hasakah Governorate, northeast Syria, due to the use of non-potable tank water by residents and the increase in temperatures.
Luay Bakr, director of Lekrin hospital in the town, told North Press on Monday that since the beginning of summer, cases of digestive diseases and measles have increased, where the hospital is visited daily by more than 300 cases suffering from almost the same diseases.
He added that “the main reason for these diseases is climate change, the consumption of local vegetables that have been sprayed with insecticides, in addition to the use of non-potable tank water.
Tel Tamr is located in north of Hasakah on the Hasakah-Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) road. The main drinking water line that originates in Alouk station and feeds the city of Hasakah passes through Tel Tamr.
Alouk water station witnessed frequent cut-offs by the Turkish army following its occupation in a military operation in October 2019.
In 2019, the Turkish forces and the Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, also known as Syrian National Army (SNA), launched the so-called “Peace Spring” military operation where it occupied Ras al-Ain and its countryside.
Sami Maamo, a pediatric specialist at the hospital, said: “We suffer from gastrointestinal infections every summer, but what is remarkable this year is the widespread of measles, especially among children, as these large numbers were not recorded in previous years.”