Syria Health Cluster EWARS/EWARN Bulletin Overview: October – December 2024
From September 29 to December 28, 2024, Syria experienced over 5 million consultations, with significant notifiable diseases reported to EWARS/EWARN. A total of 728 alerts were raised, primarily for AWD and measles. Influenza Like Illnesses were the leading cause of morbidity, highlighting ongoing health challenges across the nation.
Between September 29 and December 28, 2024, encompassing epidemiological weeks 40-52, there were 5,116,138 consultations recorded in Syria. Of these, 1,033,312 (20.2%) pertained to notifiable diseases reported via the Early Warning, Alert, and Response System (EWARS) and the Early Warning Alert and Response Network (EWARN). These reports cover the operational areas of the Syria Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), particularly focusing on Northwest Syria (NWS) and Northeast Syria (NES).
A total of 1,942 sentinel surveillance sites actively contributed to EWARS and EWARN reports during this period, achieving an impressive average of 90.5% completeness alongside 82% timeliness. In total, 728 alerts were generated, with 613 from EWARS and 115 from EWARN. Notably, 618 of these alerts were verified within 72 hours, indicating an 85% verification rate. Ongoing outbreaks of Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD) and measles were observed across the Whole of Syria (WoS).
During the same epidemiological weeks, the morbidity data reflected significant health challenges: 1,033,312 notifiable disease cases emerged from the surveillance sites. Influenza Like Illnesses (ILI) accounted for 708,641 cases (69%), followed by Acute Diarrhea (AD) with 273,767 cases (27%). Other notable diseases included Acute Jaundice Syndrome (AJS) at 15,070 cases (1%), Leishmaniasis with 13,406 cases (1%), and Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) at 8,376 cases (1%).
The EWARS/EWARN report from October to December 2024 indicates a significant volume of health consultations and notable instances of notifiable diseases in Syria. High alert verification rates affirm the responsiveness of the monitoring systems. However, the prominence of diseases like Influenza Like Illnesses and Acute Diarrhea raises concerns about public health management in conflict-affected areas.
Original Source: reliefweb.int
