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Meningitis outbreak compounds Madaya's woes

By Nohad Topalian in Beirut

Madaya medical committee head Dr. Mohammad Youssef stands by the bedside of Khawla Ezzedine and her daughter Sanaa during the recent meningitis outbreak in the town near Damascus. [Nohad Topalian/Al-Mashareq]

Madaya medical committee head Dr. Mohammad Youssef stands by the bedside of Khawla Ezzedine and her daughter Sanaa during the recent meningitis outbreak in the town near Damascus. [Nohad Topalian/Al-Mashareq]

A growing number of cases of viral meningitis have been recorded in the Syrian town of Madaya, which has been under siege by the regime and Iran-backed Hizbullah since July 2015 , local medics tell Al-Mashareq.

Dozens of new cases have been recorded in the town outside Damascus, they said, with children particularly vulnerable to infection.

After appeals from the town’s medical committee, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent evacuated 11 cases, including four children, from the town on September 8th.

Symptoms of meningitis first appeared in Madaya in early August, with a number of recorded infections, including that of 11-year-old Yaman Alaa Ezzeddin, whose dire situation triggered appeals for evacuation.

On August 19th, Yaman and 12 other children were evacuated from the besieged town and taken to Damascus for medical attention.

In early September, the Madaya medical committee announced the town had entered a "critical medical stage", pointing to the emergence of several suspected cases of viral meningitis spreading among children.

More than 30 cases have been diagnosed since the beginning of August, the committee said.

The committee implored the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Doctors Without Borders (MSF) "to act quickly and assume their responsibilities to rescue the besieged residents from the epidemic".

It asked them to "pressure [the regime] to open urgent humanitarian corridors and allow the immediate entrance of necessary food and medical supplies".

Entire family becomes infected

Yaman Ezzeddin’s entire family became infected -- his mother Khawla, his father Alaa and his sisters Bayan and Sanaa -- and were transported to a hospital in Damascus on September 8th after being quarantined in their house.

Khawla Ezzeddin said they had not expected the infection to spread.

A few days after Yaman's medical evacuation, she told Al-Mashareq, her 12-year-old daughter, Bayan, began to display symptoms of the virus.

"Her temperature rose above 40 degrees Celsius and she also had symptoms of hallucination, severe headache and pain in her eyes," she said. "We soon learned, after she was examined by a physician, that she was infected with meningitis, which quickly spread to all of us."

The difficult conditions in Madaya contributed to the family's medical crisis, she said, noting that they have not had access to proper nutrition or medical care.

"The siege imposed on us has deprived us of the minimum requirements of life," he said. "I can no longer endure, and I am incapable of caring for [my family], because I am bed-ridden."

Shortages of basic food items

The prevalent "severe malnutrition" due to the shortage of essential foods has had "a negative impact on the immune systems of the besieged Madaya residents", said Madaya Medical Committee head Dr. Mohammad Youssef.

"We have been suffering from an acute shortage of water, food, electricity and effective medicine for 15 months, when the regime and Hizbullah forces first imposed the siege on us," he told Al-Mashareq.

"The immense shortage of basic food and lack of milk for children all have led to the spread of diseases and epidemics," he added.

"We did not expect the disease to spread," Youssef said. "But since the diagnosis of the first case in August, we have been living under its spectre. It spreads fast, and even though we transferred the infected children to Damascus hospitals, we are recording new infections on a daily basis."

The town's medical team does not have the resources to treat meningitis, he said, and is not able to provide vaccines to prevent it from spreading.

"All we could do is set up a quarantine centre, launch appeals for help and implore international organisations to open a humanitarian corridor and transfer patients for treatment outside the town," he said.

Hizbullah exploiting suffering

The last UN food convoy entered Madaya five months ago, Youssef said.

Meanwhile, he added, the regime and Hizbullah have tightened the siege on the town and are selling basic food items to residents at "exorbitant prices".

In Madaya, Hizbullah sells a kilogramme of powdered baby formula for $150, a litre of gasoline for $50 and a litre of diesel to operate generators for $30, he said, adding that it has been blocking the entrance of medical and food aid.

The armed group is "exploiting the siege and punishing innocent citizens with its actions", he said.

Residents of Madaya "need all forms of help, as the spectre of death hangs over the town because of hunger, diseases and psychological fear", he said.

"The medical staffs in Madaya are having great difficulty developing a disease diagnosis plan due to the enormous shortage of [medical] capabilities, equipment, diagnostic laboratory instruments and medicines," medic Ahmed Abdel-Wahab told Al-Mashareq.

"All these shortages require us to use traditional treatment methods and ineffective serums," he said.

Meanwhile, he added, "we are weary of the siege. We have nothing left in our homes to sell to buy essential food items".

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What are the latest news about the cities of Foua, Kafriya, and Deir ez-Zor, all of which are besieged by terrorists? Why didn't you say anything at the time when Nubl and Al-Zahra were under siege?

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