Public health round-up

The head of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Health Emergencies Programme expressed alarm at reports of the use of highly toxic chemicals in an attack in the Syrian Arab Republic on 5 April. At least 70 people died and hundreds more were affected in Khan Shaykhun in the governorate of Idleb, according to United Nations Health Cluster partners who were treating patients – many of them women and children – with breathing difficulties. “The images and reports coming from Idleb today leave me shocked, saddened and outraged. These types of weapons are banned by international law because they represent an intolerable barbarism,” said Dr Peter Salama, Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme. Since 2012, when the first reports emerged of the use of chemicals as weapons in the Syrian conflict, WHO has been engaged in public health preparedness for the management of patients exposed to chemical or toxic gas. This included issuing new clinical management protocols, preparing hospitals to receive and treat patients, distributing protective equipment to hospitals, and raising awareness amongst Syrians on how they can protect themselves against exposure and when to seek treatment. In 2016, WHO trained 200 clinicians on the initial management of chemical weapons cases including pre-hospital decontamination, referral, triage and treatment. An additional 65 doctors in northern Syrian were trained by WHO’s field office in Gaziantep, southern Turkey. The majority of doctors trained were from Idleb, the governorate where the 5 April attack took place. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/ news/statements/2017/toxic-chemicals-syria/