The interim Ministry of Health said that “clinics and field hospitals run by the Health Directorate of the Ministry in rural Damascus has been receiving increasing cases of diarrhea and vomiting. The laboratory tests showed that the patients are suffering from typhoid, hepatitis, tuberculosis and shingles. The patients were given the necessary treatment, while others are still being monitored. The number of these cases is likely to increase due to the suffocating siege imposed by regime forces on the liberated areas and the lack of resources. Other factors that contribute to the increase in the cases of these epidemics are the weak immunity, expired food and the contamination of water.” (Source: Syrian Interim Government)