The whole world knows about the brutalities of the civil war and the terrorist Islamic State (ISIS) that are taking their toll on the lives of millions of people in Syria. What many people do not know is that aside from these, there is another menace spreading across the war-torn nation: a flesh-eating disease.
This disease, scientifically known as leishmaniasis, has been affecting Syria for centuries now, but has only turned into a serious problem for the nation over the past years.
Just recently, the head of the non-profit organisation Kurdish Red Crescent was reportedly infected by this disease.
What exactly is leishmaniasis? According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), it is a disease caused by parasites transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female phlebotimine sandflies.
When a person is bitten by a carrier fly, the Leishmania parasite enters the individual's bloodstream to invade macrophage immune cells, resulting in horrible open sores close to the bite site.
An estimated 1.3 million people around the world are currently infected with leishmaniasis, and another 310 million from six different countries are at risk of being infected with the disease, the WHO said on its website.
Thankfully, leishmaniasis can be cured, although medical practitioners have yet to reach a consensus on which medicine is most effective.
At present, there are four different drugs that can be used to cure the flesh-eating disease, including amphotericin B, which has the risk of side effects like headaches, fever and vomiting once administered to a patient through injection.
The WHO also pointed out on its website that access to drugs to cure leishmaniasis is very limited in poor countries like Syria, which is heavily infected with the disease.
The primary reason for this is that drugs for leishmaniasis are expensive, thus making them unaffordable for patients living in developing countries, coupled with the weak health systems in these nations.
