Palestinian well being officers reported the primary polio case in years within the Gaza Strip on Friday. The case was found in an unvaccinated 10-month-old little one in Deir al-Balah, a metropolis in Gaza. The kid’s signs have been recognized, and exams carried out in Amman, Jordan, confirmed the prognosis of polio, based on the ministry.
Polio, a probably lethal and paralysing illness, primarily impacts kids below the age of 5 and is normally transmitted by way of contaminated water.The one international locations the place polio transmission has by no means been interrupted are Pakistan and Afghanistan.
UN well being and youngsters’s companies have requested seven-day breaks within the combating, starting on the finish of August, to vaccinate 640,000 Palestinian kids in opposition to polio. They reported that the polio virus had been present in wastewater in two main cities in Gaza final month, which had been polio-free for the previous 25 years, based on the United Nations.
Because the newest conflict started on October 7, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing round 1,200 individuals and taking greater than 250 hostages, the humanitarian group has warned of the re-emergence of polio. Israel’s devastating retaliatory offensive has claimed the lives of greater than 40,000 individuals in Gaza through the 10-month battle and has created a extreme humanitarian disaster, which well being officers say has resulted in a public well being emergency.
The World Well being Group (WHO) reported in July {that a} sort 2 variant was present in wastewater samples from southern Khan Younis and central Deir al-Balah, and was linked to a poliovirus variant final detected in Egypt in 2023.
Though the WHO didn’t affirm the polio case, it stated earlier on Friday that three kids in Gaza have been identified with acute flaccid paralysis, a standard symptom of polio characterised by the onset of weak point or paralysis with decreased muscle tone.
The WHO stated that by the top of August, greater than 1.6 million doses of the polio vaccine are anticipated to reach in Gaza, in time for the vaccination campaigns, which might must be carried out in two rounds. Kids below the age of 10 will obtain two drops of the oral vaccine in opposition to sort 2 of the polio virus.
Well being officers in Gaza stated on Friday that they are going to be unable to forestall the unfold and deal with individuals with out an instantaneous cease-fire in place.
Polio, a probably lethal and paralysing illness, primarily impacts kids below the age of 5 and is normally transmitted by way of contaminated water.The one international locations the place polio transmission has by no means been interrupted are Pakistan and Afghanistan.
UN well being and youngsters’s companies have requested seven-day breaks within the combating, starting on the finish of August, to vaccinate 640,000 Palestinian kids in opposition to polio. They reported that the polio virus had been present in wastewater in two main cities in Gaza final month, which had been polio-free for the previous 25 years, based on the United Nations.
Because the newest conflict started on October 7, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing round 1,200 individuals and taking greater than 250 hostages, the humanitarian group has warned of the re-emergence of polio. Israel’s devastating retaliatory offensive has claimed the lives of greater than 40,000 individuals in Gaza through the 10-month battle and has created a extreme humanitarian disaster, which well being officers say has resulted in a public well being emergency.
The World Well being Group (WHO) reported in July {that a} sort 2 variant was present in wastewater samples from southern Khan Younis and central Deir al-Balah, and was linked to a poliovirus variant final detected in Egypt in 2023.
Though the WHO didn’t affirm the polio case, it stated earlier on Friday that three kids in Gaza have been identified with acute flaccid paralysis, a standard symptom of polio characterised by the onset of weak point or paralysis with decreased muscle tone.
The WHO stated that by the top of August, greater than 1.6 million doses of the polio vaccine are anticipated to reach in Gaza, in time for the vaccination campaigns, which might must be carried out in two rounds. Kids below the age of 10 will obtain two drops of the oral vaccine in opposition to sort 2 of the polio virus.
Well being officers in Gaza stated on Friday that they are going to be unable to forestall the unfold and deal with individuals with out an instantaneous cease-fire in place.
