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According to the BBC, UN officials said a 10-month-old baby in Gaza was partially paralyzed after contracting polio.
Gaza, where the war is now in its 11th month, has not had a case of polio in 25 years, although type 2 polio virus was detected in samples collected from sewage in the area in June, according to the United Nations. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), said he was “deeply concerned” and confirmed that efforts were underway to launch a vaccination program in the coming weeks. The 10-month-old baby, who was not vaccinated, is said to be in a stable condition after being paralyzed in one leg. The polio virus, which is usually spread through sewage and contaminated water, is highly contagious, can cause disfigurement and paralysis, and can be fatal. It mainly affects children under the age of five.
Aid groups blame the resurgence of polio in Gaza on disruptions to childhood vaccination programs and the massive destruction of water and sanitation systems caused by the war. To limit the spread, the United Nations has pushed for a one-week pause in fighting to carry out a polio vaccination campaign for more than 640,000 children under the age of 10. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has declared that “hundreds of thousands of children in the Gaza Strip are at risk.” He said that for the campaign to succeed, the transportation of vaccines and necessary equipment, as well as the entry of polio experts into Gaza, needed to be facilitated.
Adequate fuel, increased cash flow, reliable communications and ensuring the safety of health workers and those reaching health facilities are also needed, he said. WHO has authorized the release of 1.6 million doses of the vaccine, which UNICEF is coordinating with cold storage facilities for delivery, and UNRWA medical teams will administer the vaccines once they arrive in Gaza. UNICEF’s statement UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said the re-emergence of the virus in the Strip after 25 years was “another stark reminder of how chaotic, desperate and dangerous the situation has become”. On August 18, the IDF said that 282,126 vials of polio vaccine, equivalent to 2,821,260 doses, had been delivered to Gaza since the outbreak of the war. In the coming weeks, an additional 60,000 doses will be delivered to vaccinate more than 1 million children. According to the IDF, access to the Gaza Strip for vaccination and immunization is facilitated by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT). “This includes the entry of medical teams and vaccines against the polio virus,” the IDF said. Israel launched its military operation in Gaza on Oct. 7 following an unprecedented attack in southern Israel that left about 1,200 people dead and 251 hostages. More than 40,265 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, which did not provide details on civilian and combatant deaths. The United Nations human rights office said most of the victims were women and children.
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