Due to the nonstop influx of migrants from neighboring countries, and a cold weather to content with, a small Island in the Aegean is riddled with flu cases this week.
According to sources, an expected cold snap later this month will make matters worse as facilities in the area don't have sufficient medical supply of medicines and manpower to deal with the problem.
Flu cases are dominant in cold regions but are easily manageable. However in migrant camps, due to limited space, the virus could easily spread from one person to another.
Aside from overcrowding, another reason for the swift spread of the viral infection is the lack of adequate shelter from the cold. The problem has gotten severe in the camp that police officials are forced to accommodate the homeless migrants in their precincts.
Although hundreds of the migrants have already been moved to the mainland area, a significant number of people are still struggling to find shelter against the upcoming cold snap, the Ekathimerini says.
Hundreds still have to sleep outdoors and battle the bitter cold. These conditions set the stage for an increase of flu cases within days.
As reported earlier, flu season starts in November and ends in April, with January and February as peak months. This means that there is great possibility of even more increase of the infection as the weather becomes more severe.
City officials worry about the dire situation in the migrant camps as they race to build a new housing center, which was destroyed by fire and riot last year.
It is not only on the Aegean island that desperate scenarios of migrant camps can be observed. In Bulgaria, 3,000 migrants were forced to stay in their camp in an effort to prevent infecting the general population.
According to the Breitbart, a lockdown was issued in the camp after cases of parasite infestation and communicable diseases were reported to be observed in the migrants.
The situation is not far from that in the Aegean area as migrants and public health workers alike struggle to put the overflow of flu cases under control.
