NewsGaza War breeds drug-resistant superbugs: A looming global health crisis

Gaza War breeds drug-resistant superbugs: A looming global health crisis

Gaza Strip called "breeding ground for superbugs"
Gaza Strip called "breeding ground for superbugs"
Images source: © Getty Images | 2024 Anadolu
Mateusz Domański

12 September 2024 13:56

Experts warn. According to their predictions, ongoing wars will impact public health worldwide. This is because drug-resistant bacteria develop during conflicts and under dire humanitarian conditions. The existing treatment methods are insufficient.

In the Gaza Strip, medics have no choice. The shortage of medicine forces doctors to amputate the limbs of wounded children due to infections. All this is to save their lives.

The Gaza Strip is considered a breeding ground for superbugs resistant to standard antibiotics. Experts claim that the spread of bacteria from the Palestinian enclave and other war zones, such as Ukraine, will be one of the greatest public health threats in the coming years.

In no time, if not already, it will be in Europe, the U.S., in the east, the south. It’s going to be everywhere - said Hanan Balkhy, regional director of the World Health Organization (WHO) for the Eastern Mediterranean region, in an interview with "Politico".

A nightmare forecast from an expert. "They will spread worldwide"

Researchers argue that conditions in the Gaza Strip are virtually ideal for the spread of dangerous bacteria. They can be hazardous to the entire world.

People don’t understand that this is not something that will affect only Gaza. It will affect the globe, Israel being the first affected party due to the spillover - emphasized Antoine Abou Fayed, a microbiologist from the American University of Beirut.
Gaza will probably be the birthplace of many resistant bacteria that will spread around the world - added Hanan Balkhy.
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