WHO sends one million doses of vaccine to Gaza after polio outbreak
After the detection of polio viruses in wastewater from the Gaza Strip, the World Health Organization (WHO) is set to send over a million doses of polio vaccine to the region, according to their own statements. "The WHO is sending over a million doses of polio vaccine to be administered in the coming weeks," explained WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to journalists. He urged that healthcare workers in the Gaza Strip need freedom of movement to administer the vaccinations.
The detection of the polio virus in Gaza Strip wastewater indicates "that the virus is circulating in the population and putting unvaccinated children at risk," said Tedros. A ceasefire or at least a few days of calm are crucial for protecting children in the Gaza Strip, he emphasized.
On July 30, the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip declared the region a "polio epidemic area." The authority blames the destruction of healthcare facilities by Israel's army for the outbreak of the disease. The virus was detected in wastewater samples in the southern city of Khan Yunis and in the center of the Gaza Strip.
Poliomyelitis, the medical term for infantile paralysis, is caused by an acute infectious virus that attacks the spinal cord and can cause irreversible paralysis in children. The polio virus is typically spread through the feces of an infected person and is ingested through contaminated water or food. While there is no cure for polio, vaccination prevents its spread.
The declaration of the Gaza Strip as a "polio epidemic area" by the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Ministry of Health highlights the severity of the situation in the region. The delivery of over a million doses of polio vaccine to the Gaza Strip by the World Health Organization is aimed at combating this outbreak.
