Disease

Outbreak of flesh-eating skin disease grips ISIS-controlled areas in Syria

The collapse of the medical services in the terrorist-controlled territory of war-torn Syria is responsible for the spread of a flesh-eating virus, known as Leishmaniasis, transmitted through parasites which abundantly munch on corpses dumped in the streets.

Kurdish fighters in Syria claimed the disease was not noticed until Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) influence and atrocities spread across Syria. Leishmaniasis, which is not deadly but leads to disfiguring lesions on the skin, was particularly bad in war-torn parts of Syria.

According to a Kurdish publication the first outbreak of the disease, spread by sand flies, was reported in September 2013, and by mid- 2014 around 500 people had reportedly been affected.

Syria’s healthcare system has been devastated by four years of conflict, as more than half of the public hospitals in the country are unable to provide full service. In ISIS-controlled areas hospitals are understaffed; healthcare workers have been forced to flee for their lives.