Scientists have found an increase in botulism and salmonellosis in Ukraine compared to before the invasion by Russia. To analyze the war’s effects on infectious disease epidemiology, researchers used open-source data on eight diseases from EPIWATCH, an artificial intelligence early-warning system. They looked at patterns of infectious diseases before and during the conflict.
Before was defined as from November 2021 to Feb. 23, 2022, and during was classed as Feb. 24 to July 31, 2022.
Findings were published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases . Conflict situations increase the risk of epidemics, and the disruption or halting of public health surveillance creates challenges for tracking them. Water supplies in cities such as Mariupol are unsafe to drink because of damaged sewage systems and raw sewage leakage into rivers and streams, yet many people still consume contaminated water.
A lack of regular housing and shelter reduced caloric intake, and poor hygiene and sanitation increased the risk for infectious diseases. After February 2022, formal surveillance for most infectious diseases ceased, and reporting of notifiable diseases was reduced. While formal systems continued to report cases of botulism, the analysis showed that numbers were probably underestimated.
Data from the Ukrainian Ministry of Health shows that 39 cases of botulism have been registered from the beginning of 2024 until mid-July, compared to 45 cases in the same period last year. In June, 15 peop.