Flesh-Eating Disease ‘Spread By Isis’ Is Now Infecting Other Countries
A horrific ‘flesh eating’ disease which has infected hundreds in Isis-controlled territories in Syria has now spread outside the country - sparking fears of an Ebola-style situation.
Cutaneous leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease which leads to lesions and severe scarring - often on people’s faces - and is spread by infected sand flies.
Cutaneous leishmaniasis is endemic in Syria - it was once known as the ‘Aleppo evil’ - but it’s now spreading outside its area.
Peter Hotez, dean of the US National School of Tropical Medicine said, ‘‘We’re seeing lots of diseases, including leishmaniasis in these conflict zones and we need to ring-fence them or risk another situation like Ebola out of the conflict zones in West Africa in 2014.’
The Kurdish Red Crescent claimed that it had spread due to Isis fighters’ habit of leaving corpses in the street - but it’s now thought to have spread due to a lack of medical facilities in Isis-controlled territory.
Dr Waleed Al-Salem of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, said: ‘It’s a very bad situation. The disease has spread dramatically in Syria, but also into countries like Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey and even into southern Europe with refugees coming in.
'There are thousands of cases in the region but it is still underestimated because no one can count the exact number of people affected.
'When people are bitten by a sand-fly - which are tiny and smaller than a mosquito - it can take anything between two to six months to have the infection.
'So someone might have picked it up in Syria but then they may have fled into Lebanon or Turkey, or even into Europe as they seek refuge.