Newspaper reveals the spread of "schistosomiasis" and "river blindness" in Houthi areas

Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper revealed the rapid spread of dangerous epidemics in several areas under the control of the Houthi militia, most notably schistosomiasis and river blindness, in light of the deterioration of the health sector and the absence of anti-epidemic campaigns, which led to the recording of deaths due to the lack of necessary medical care.

The newspaper quoted medical sources as saying that the past ten weeks witnessed the recording of about 30,000 new cases of schistosomiasis, in addition to 18,000 cases of river blindness in six Yemeni cities, including: the countryside of Sana'a, Ibb, Al-Mahwit, Raymah, Al-Hodeidah, and Taiz.

The sources indicated that the deterioration of health conditions and the cessation of campaigns to combat infectious diseases contributed significantly to the spread of epidemics, which threatens a health disaster that threatens the lives of the population.

The spread of schistosomiasis is due in particular to the lack of clean drinking water in many areas, where armed conflict and coup have led to the deterioration of basic services, making the population vulnerable to this disease, which is the second most dangerous tropical disease after malaria.

At the same time, health sector workers warned of the worsening crisis due to the Houthi group’s prevention of vaccination and control campaigns, in addition to the spread of corruption and the looting of health resources, which increased the suffering of patients and weakened the ability of health facilities to respond.

The sources called on the concerned authorities and international organizations to quickly intervene to save thousands of infected people and contain the spread of these epidemics before they turn into a catastrophic health crisis that is difficult to control.