High risk of polio virus spreading across Gaza, says WHO

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STORY: :: The WHO says there is a high risk of polio spreading across the war-ravaged Gaza Strip and beyond

:: July 23, 2024

:: Jerusalem

:: Ayadil Saparbekov, World Health Organization

''This is not only because of the detection, but because of the very dire situation with water sanitation. As you may be aware, this virus is spread through fecal-oral way of transmission. In addition to that, as I said, the functionality of the health facilities, especially primary healthcare services that provide vaccination and other maternal and child health services to the population in Gaza, is critical, is basically not functioning as it used to function before.”

"Also it may spill over internationally at a very high point. So we would, together with the partners, need to work around the clock to make sure that the epidemiological investigation is complete, risk assessment is complete.

''This is going to be a very bad situation that we may face in Gaza. And we may have more people dying of different communicable diseases than from the injury-related diseases, conditions.”

Saparbekov said WHO and UNICEF workers were scheduled to arrive in Gaza on Thursday (July 25) to collect human stool samples as part of a risk assessment related to the discovery of the virus.

He said the assessment, which he hoped would be completed by the end of the week, would allow health officials to issue recommendations.

Poliomyelitis, which is spread mainly through the fecal-oral route, is a highly infectious virus that can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis. It mainly affects children under the age of 5.

Israel's military said on Sunday (July 21) it would start offering the polio vaccine to soldiers serving in the Gaza Strip after remnants of the contagious polio virus were found in test samples in areas of the coastal enclave.

The military also said that with the cooperation of international groups enough vaccines had been brought in to cover more than one million people in Gaza, which has a total population of around 2.3 million.