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- The World Health Organization reports increased rates of diarrhea in the Damascus area
- It suspects the water supply is contaminated by the destruction of the sewage system
- An additional 3,500 Syrians flee to Turkey in the past few days, a U.N. spokesman says
- The total number of refugees in neighboring countries has topped 170,100, the U.N. says
(CNN) -- The incessant violence in Syria has not only spawned a humanitarian crisis; it is also prompting concerns about the spread of disease, officials said.
"We have heard through the Ministry of Health itself that an estimated 38 hospitals and 149 other clinics have been substantially damaged or destroyed, so this clearly worsens the access to health care," said Richard Brennan, director of emergency risk management for the World Health Organization.
"There are also concerns to the broader public health infrastructure, water supplies, sewerage systems and so on, and that's why we are redoubling our efforts in monitoring the rates of disease and this early identification of increased rates of diarrhea in Damascus, in rural Damascus," Brennan added. "Our early investigations suggest that this is because of contamination of the water supply due to destruction of the sewerage system."
With no end to the country's civil war in sight, thousands more Syrians have fled across the border this week, a spokesman for the U.N.'s refugee office said.
At least 3,500 people arrived in Turkey within the past few days, spokesman Adrian Edwards said Friday.
"With these latest arrivals, there are now almost 65,000 Syrians in the nine camps in Turkey, though not all are yet formally registered," Edwards said. "To put this in perspective, about 40% have arrived there during August."
The number of formally registered Syrian refugees who have fled to neighboring Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan now totals at least 170,116, the United Nations said.
Those still inside Syria witnessed fresh violence Saturday from both the ground and sky, opposition activists said.
Warplanes attacked the western city of Houla as regime tanks shelled parts of the Damascus area, the Local Coordination Committees of Syria said. At least six people were killed across the country early Saturday.
In the ongoing global effort to stop the bloodshed, an Algerian diplomat became the new U.N.-Arab League special envoy to Syria.
On Friday, a U.N. spokesman said Lakhdar Brahimi has been appointed to replace Kofi Annan, the previous envoy to Syria who resigned after months of fizzled attempts to broker peace in the war-torn country.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime has refused to acknowledge the civil war, insisting it is fighting armed gangs and foreign fighters bent on destabilizing the country.
"The Syrian military always keeps in mind that they need to safeguard and protect everyone," Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem told state-run TV this week. "But the armed terrorist gangs have no principles. They kill and destroy and no one holds them accountable."
CNN is unable to independently verify claims of violence as Syria has severely restricted the access of international journalists.
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