The outbreak of Parasitic Diseases in the Gaza Strip, New Chapter published in SPRINGR
Prof. Adnan Al-Hindi, who is the Professor of Medical Parasitology in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Islamic University, has recently published his first version of a chapter entitled, ” Epidemiology of Parasitic Diseases in Gaza Strip, Palestine: A continuing Health Problem”. This chapter has been included within a book named “Handbook of Healthcare in the Arab World” and is published in the Springer Nature Switzerland.
The chapter written by Prof. Al-Hindi puts forward the topic of Intestinal parasitic diseases as one of the biggest health problems in the developing world and an endemic disease in the Gaza Strip for decades. According to the World Health Organization, 3.5 billion people worldwide continue to suffer from intestinal parasite infection. In the Gaza Strip, Particularly, there are many reports and research on parasitic diseases that link between the intestinal parasites, and malnutrition and environmental pollution that caused by these parasitic parasites and other parasitic diseases in the Gaza Strip.
Prof. AL-Hindi in his chapter mentioned the reasons of spreading these kind of diseases, focusing on the geography of the Gaza Strip, population density, and sources of water, agriculture system, groundwater, water wells, sewage system and the 14-years blockade of the Gaza strip. The chapter then focuses on the spread of intestinal parasites and how much the environment is affected by this kind of disease. Furthermore, the chapter concentrated more on the intestinal parasites that spread among kids in schools mentioning some ways of the outbreak. Various studies in Palestine and neighboring countries on this regard have been counted.
The chapter, in addition, identified the problem of the outbreak of intestinal parasites in the Gaza Strip for decades. He clarified that this outbreak happened because of several risk factors in a crowded area such as the Gaza Strip. The focus was also on the health system, laboratories, the examination of intestinal parasites, the cost of treatment and treatment strategies used in the fight against intestinal parasites.
At the end of the chapter, Prof. Prof. Al-Hindi proposed solutions to reduce the presence of intestinal parasites, suggesting continuous health education and raising awareness of hand washing as a special preventive strategy for schoolchildren and preschool. Second, protect drinking water sources from possible contamination by intestinal parasites, especially protozoa, such as hidden poochs, lymphatic giardia and Amoebiasis. Third, raise the awareness of parasitic diseases among all family members and society throughout Palestine.
It is worth noting that the presence and fluctuations of intestinal parasites should be taken into account while preparing for health planning; that’s because the infection can lead to malnutrition, anemia and affect cognitive ability and other health problems.
