Profiling infectious diseases in Turkey after the influx of 3.5 million Syrian refugees

Ergönül, Önder; Tülek, Necla; Kayı, İlker; Irmak, Hasan; Erdem, Ozan; Dara, Masoud

doi:10.1016/j.cmi.2019.06.022

Cited by 35 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…In a study done in tent camps for refugees, similar results have been established in terms of tuberculosis patients and contact persons between refugees and Turkish citizens (36). The vaccination degree is above 95 % in temporary shelters (37). As seen here, health service in refugee shelters could be considered sufficient.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 73%

A new perspective on the rise of tuberculosis cases: Communal living

Kurtuluş

Can

Sak

2020

Preprint

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Background: Forced migration caused by wars causes health parameters to regress including tuberculosis. Wars are obstacles that stand in our way to eradicate tuberculosis and they are the reason why it has been such a threat to human life. To determine the relationship between living area and family type and the number of contacts among refugees and Turkish citizens who have been diagnosed with tuberculosis.Method: This research has been conducted with 194 patients with tuberculosis who admitted to The Faculty of Medicine, Harran University between the years of 2012-2019. The number of contacted people has been provided with the patients' folders. Reaching their homes, the patients' family types and living areas have been recorded among the volunteer attenders.Result: 98 (%50,5) percent of the members of the study group are refugees, the number of the contacts, among screened refugees, is 549 while the size of the living area is 7740m2. 96 (%49,5) percent of the members of the study group are citizens of the Turkish Republic(TR), the number of the contacs, among screened TR citizens, is 487, while the size of the living space is 11370 m2. 57 percent (%58,2) of the refugee families were found in communal living style while 47 (%49,0) percent of TR citizens were found living in a nuclear family system. It has been found that the statistical significance between the living area and the family type is caused by the difference between the nuclear family system and the communal living style. The average living space of TR citizens is meaningfully higher than the average living area of the refugees.Conclusion: It has been found that tuberculosis infects more people in war-related life conditions and this is caused by people -who are not blood-related-living together, communal living in other words. This is new information for the literature. The exposed number being higher in refugees than TR citizens proves that the refugees living out of camp are present in communal living spaces more often. The obstacles to reaching health services for refugees living out of camp should be examined.It has been found that tuberculosis infects more people in war-related life conditions and this is caused by people -who are not blood-related-living together, communal living in other words. This is new information for the literature. The exposed number being higher in refugees than TR citizens proves that the refugees living out of camp are present in communal living spaces more often. The obstacles to reaching health services for refugees living out of camp should be examined. DeclarationsEthics approval and consent to participate: Not applicable Consent for publication: Not applicable

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 73%

A new perspective on the rise of tuberculosis cases: Communal living

Kurtuluş

Can

Sak

2020

Preprint

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“…Several authors have noted that the onset of the war coincided with a significant increase in number and distribution of CL cases across the country [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] and that movements of Syrian refugees led to a general increase in number of CL cases reported from resettlement countries [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]. Our analysis focuses on a comprehensive quantification of the evolution of CL epidemiology throughout Syria's territory, an exercise that, to our knowledge, has not yet been attempted.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cutaneous leishmaniasis in Syria: A review of available data during the war years: 2011–2018

et al. 2019

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BackgroundCutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) has historically been reported from Syria. Since 2011, the country has been affected by a war, which has impacted health and health services. Over the same period, an increase in the number of cases of CL has been reported from several areas across the country and by a number of authors. This study aims to provide the first quantitative evidence of the epidemiological evolution of CL in Syria during the war.

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“…In 2013, 7,405 cases of measles were detected ( WHO Turkey Statistics, 2019 ). As a response, catch-up and mop-up measles vaccination campaigns were conducted for Turkish citizens and Syrian refugees in cities with high refugee population and consequently the number of measles cases decreased to 565 in 2014 ( Ergönül et al, 2020 ). According to Turkish Ministry of Health, intensive immunization efforts have successfully controlled the disease, but virus is known to circulate in the country.…”

Section: Vulnerabilities Of Refugee Children In Terms Of Health and Wmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A study performed in Izmir with Syrian refugees admitted to outpatient clinic of a hospital revealed that more than half of the children did not have protective level of antibodies against Hepatitis A ( Köse et al, 2017 ). In temporary shelters in Turkey, 1,354 Hepatitis A cases were diagnosed between 2012 and 2016 and most of the cases were children ( Ergönül et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Vulnerabilities Of Refugee Children In Terms Of Health and Wmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a study to evaluate results of PPD test applied at the Tuberculosis Dispensary between 2012–2015, performed in Hatay, one of the border provinces (427,500 Syrians comprising of 26.56 % of the refugee population as of June 2019 ( Directorate General of Migration Management (DGMM), M. of I., Turkey, 2020 )), positive PPD reactions and Annual Risk of Tuberculosis infection were found to be more common among Syrian refugees compared to local population, more specifically in the 6–18 age group ( Savaş, Barutcu, & Yeniçeri, 2018 ). Another study revealed that in temporary shelters for refugees in Turkey, 108 active tuberculosis cases were detected and treated ( Ergönül et al, 2020 ). The presence of active TB cases related to Syrian refugees indicate that preventive strategies for TB should be emphasized.…”

Section: Vulnerabilities Of Refugee Children In Terms Of Health and Wmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Vulnerabilities of Syrian refugee children in Turkey and actions taken for prevention and management in terms of health and wellbeing

Sahin¹,

Dağlı

Acartürk

et al. 2021

Child Abuse & Neglect

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Background The Syrian crisis, which started in March 2011, has resulted in the displacement of 6.3 million refugees predominantly to neighboring countries in addition to the internal displacement of 6.2 million people. Turkey is the country hosting the largest number of refugees in the world with 3.6 million Syrian refugees 46 % of which are under 18 years old. Objective The purpose of this article is to conduct a narrative review and analyze the vulnerabilities of refugee children in Turkey from the lens of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), more specifically SDG Goal 3: Good Health and Wellbeing, with a specific focus on Syrian refugee children. Moreover, this article explores the actions taken to prevent and mitigate issues that arise from these vulnerabilities. Method This narrative review article collected data from various primary and secondary sources on the Turkish refugee framework including national and international legislation, governmental and non-governmental data and reports, and scientific papers. Results Syrian refugee children in Turkey are facing a variety of risks in terms of their health and wellbeing including communicable and non-communicable diseases, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, family violence, child labor, and child marriage. The measures taken for prevention and response by governmental and non-governmental entities are multilateral and aim to address issues from multiple perspectives including medical, psychosocial, child protection, and legal. Conclusions The interventions and restructuring of the health system in Turkey contribute to the SDG number 3 for refugee children. The existence of a legal system which enables refugee access to health, protection, and other social services is key to achieve this goal. However, the existing system could be improved especially through solidifying the legal basis and centralizing the implementation for child and refugee protection. The engagement of all stakeholders to improve the health and wellbeing of refugee children remains vital.

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Profiling infectious diseases in Turkey after the influx of 3.5 million Syrian refugees

Cited by 35 publications

References 21 publications

A new perspective on the rise of tuberculosis cases: Communal living

A new perspective on the rise of tuberculosis cases: Communal living

Cutaneous leishmaniasis in Syria: A review of available data during the war years: 2011–2018

Vulnerabilities of Syrian refugee children in Turkey and actions taken for prevention and management in terms of health and wellbeing

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