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Emerging outbreaks associated with conflict and failing healthcare systems in the Middle East

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2018

Issam I. Raad ,
Anne-Marie Chaftari ,
Rita Wilson Dib ,
Edward A. Graviss  and
Ray Hachem
Issam I. Raad*
Affiliation:
Department of Infectious Diseases, Infection Control and Employee Health, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Anne-Marie Chaftari
Affiliation:
Department of Infectious Diseases, Infection Control and Employee Health, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Rita Wilson Dib
Affiliation:
Department of Infectious Diseases, Infection Control and Employee Health, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Edward A. Graviss
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology and Genomic Medicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, Texas
Ray Hachem
Affiliation:
Department of Infectious Diseases, Infection Control and Employee Health, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
*
Author for correspondence: Dr Issam I. Raad, Department of Infectious Diseases, Infection Control and Employee Health, Unit 1460, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030. E-mail: iraad@mdanderson.org
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Abstract

The escalating conflicts in the Middle East have been associated with the rapid collapse of the existing healthcare systems in affected countries. As millions of refugees flee their countries, they become vulnerable and exposed to communicable diseases that easily grow into epidemic crises. Here, we describe infectious disease epidemics that have been associated with conflicts in the Middle East, including cholera, poliomyelitis, measles, cutaneous leishmaniasis, and diphtheria, that call for appropriate preventive measures. Local ongoing wars and failing healthcare systems have resulted in regional and global health threats that warrant international medical interventions.

Type
Review
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 39 , Issue 10 , October 2018 , pp. 1230 - 1236
Copyright
© 2018 by The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. All rights reserved 

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