A first case of polio has been reported in the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian sources. The infected individual is an unvaccinated 10-month-old infant in Deir al-Balah, located in the central part of the region, the Health Ministry in Ramallah announced on Friday. The ministry confirmed that tests conducted in the Jordanian capital, Amman, have reportedly verified the diagnosis.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres had previously called for a pause in hostilities in the isolated and heavily damaged coastal strip to facilitate polio vaccinations for hundreds of thousands of children. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, have advocated for a seven-day ceasefire to enable this critical vaccination campaign.
Following the discovery of poliovirus in the sewage of the Gaza Strip in July, the UN has planned mass vaccinations against polio. The WHO announced in Geneva that more than 640,000 children under the age of 10 will be vaccinated in two rounds at the end of August and in September to protect them against the virus.
The UN health agency also reported that three children in the Gaza Strip are suspected of having acute paralysis symptoms typical of polio. Polio is a highly contagious infectious disease that can cause permanent paralysis and death, particularly in young children. The virus is often spread through contaminated water. Currently, there is no cure.
dpa
