Ashima Sharda Mahindra • 31 Jul 2024
Gaza Declares Polio Epidemic As Health Crisis Worsens Amid War, WHO Sends Vaccine Doses
Gaza health ministry has called for an immediate immediate intervention to end the aggression and find radical solutions
The health ministry in Gaza has declared a polio epidemic across the Palestinian enclave, saying the virus spread due to a devastating military assault by Israeli forces. The deadly polio virus causes a highly infectious disease that affects the nervous system and primarily affects children under five years old.
In a statement on Telegram, the ministry has emphasized the significant health threat this poses to Gaza's residents and neighbouring regions, exacerbating the public health emergency caused by Israel’s actions since October.
Calling the epidemic a setback, to the global polio eradication programme, the ministry called for an “immediate intervention to end the aggression and find radical solutions” to the lack of potable water and personal hygiene, damaged sewage networks, and removal of tonnes of rubbish and solid waste.
What is polio?
Poliomyelitis causes mild or no symptoms in most people, but in some can lead to permanent paralysis or death. According to experts, there are three variations of poliovirus - Wild poliovirus types 1, 2, and 3. While types 2 and 3 have been eradicated, type 1 still exists.
Experts say the virus gets into your body through your mouth or nose, reproducing in your throat and gut. In some cases, it gets into your brain and spinal cord and causes paralysis. You are most at risk for polio if you are not vaccinated and you:
- Live in or travel to an area where polio hasn’t been eliminated
- Live in or travel to an area with poor sanitation
- Are under five years of age
- Are pregnant
Signs and symptoms of polio
According to experts, around 70-95 per cent of those infected with poliovirus do not have the symptoms. However, paralytic polio causes the most serious symptoms, a few of which include:
- Fatigue
- High fever
- Severe headache
- Vomiting and nausea
- Constant diarrhoea or constipation
- Sore throat
- Neck stiffness
- Pain or pins-and-needles feeling in your arms and legs
- Sensitivity to light
Type 2 virus component found in Gaza
Gaza's health ministry recently revealed they detected component poliovirus type 2 in sewage, coordinated with UNICEF, especially in areas where the refugees are living in camps, raising concerns about the contamination of scarce drinking water available in the area.
Six samples from Khan Younis and Deir al Balah collected in June showed traces of the virus, the ministry said.
WHO sending vaccines
The World Health Organisation says it has sent over a million vaccine doses to Gaza to be administered over the coming weeks to prevent children from contracting the virus. A series of vaccination programmes across the world since 1988 have ceased and declined polio cases by 99 per cent.
Along with polio, the UN reported last week that cases of Hepatitis A, dysentery, and gastroenteritis are rising in Gaza as sanitation gets worse, with sewage spilling into the streets near some camps for displaced people.