WHO concerned about waterborne disease outbreaks after Turkey-Syria quake

The World Health Organization on Tuesday (February 14) warned of the risk of waterborne diseases and outbreaks in Turkey and Syria after last week's devastating earthquake that hit both countries.

“Since this terrible tragedy, there are also growing concerns over emerging health issues linked to the cold weather, hygiene and sanitation, and the spread of infectious diseases,” WHO regional director for Europe, Hans Kluge, told a news conference.

The earthquake, with a combined death toll in Turkey and Syria exceeding 37,000, has devastated whole cities in both countries, leaving survivors homeless in the bitter cold, at times sleeping on piles of rubble.

More than 158,000 people have evacuated the vast swathe of southern Turkey hit by the quake.

“Severe damage to water and sanitation system, it's a great concern and it increases the risk of waterborne diseases and outbreaks of communicable diseases,” WHO representative in Turkey, Batyr Berdyklychev, said.

“It's not only waterborne diseases, but also seasonal influenza and COVID. Displaced people in a crowded communal setting are also more exposed to risk of outbreaks,” he added.

Kluge said 26 million people in both Turkey and Syria need humanitarian assistance and 1 million people in Turkey have lost their homes.

The WHO has launched an appeal of $43 million, but Kluge said he expects this figure to at least double in the coming days.

“We are witnessing the worst natural disaster in the WHO European region for a century,” he said.

(Production: Cecile Mantovani)

Thumbnail: An aerial view of destroyed buildings, in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake, in Kahramanmaras, Turkey February 14, 2023. (REUTERS/Issam Abdallah)