ENTRE News – The Gaza Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO) detected the presence of the polio virus in wastewater samples in Gaza, Palestine. This puts thousands of Palestinians at risk of contracting the polio virus which can cause paralysis.
“Poliovirus type 2 (VDPV2) was identified at six locations in waste samples collected on 23 June from Khan Younis and Deir al Balah,” WHO said.
WHO said these findings were related to the poor sanitation situation caused by Israel’s brutal military attacks on Gaza since the Hamas attack on October 7. WHO says no one is currently being treated in Gaza for paralysis or other symptoms of polio. But residents must face new threats posed by the disease.
“It is important to note that this virus has only been isolated from the environment at this time; no cases of associated paralysis have been detected,” WHO added.
Various UN agencies – including UNICEF, the children’s fund, and UNRWA, the Palestinian refugee agency – are working with local health authorities to determine how far the virus has spread. WHO Chairman Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the level of polio vaccination before the conflict occurred was optimal.
However, the conditions of Israel’s attacks on Palestinians have created an enabling environment for the spread of diseases such as polio.
“Collapsed health systems, lack of security, barriers to access, ongoing population movements, shortages of medical supplies, poor water quality and weakening sanitation increase the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases, including polio,” Tedros said.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza called for practices to improve hygiene and safety. The Palestinian Ministry of Health said the detection of the virus that causes polio in waste signals a real health disaster and puts thousands of residents at risk of contracting polio.
Previously, the Polio epidemic had been eradicated from Gaza more than 25 years ago. WHO said pre-war vaccination coverage would reach 95 percent by 2022. A spokesperson for WHO’s global Polio Eradication program said the virus could emerge when vaccination coverage was poor.
The reason is, this allows the weakened type of vaccine virus given orally to mutate into a stronger version capable of causing paralysis. Meanwhile, hospitals in central Gaza said more than 20 people had died after two Israeli airstrikes on houses in the Nuseirat area. A CNN broadcaster on the ground said the majority of victims were women and children.
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