2024-07-23 11:32:00
“I’m very concerned. I’m very concerned…that this isn’t just polio. There could be outbreaks of other infectious diseases.”Dr. Ayadil Sapalbekov, head of the WHO Health Emergencies Team in the Palestinian Territories, said via video conference.
“Hepatitis A was diagnosed last year, now we may have polio”although there are already “Up to 14,000 people are allowed” He told the humanitarian agency’s regular press conference that medical evacuations from Gaza were needed.
Polio is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus (poliovirus) that invades the nervous system and causes irreversible paralysis within hours.
On July 16, the Global Polio Laboratory Network isolated vaccine-derived type 2 poliovirus from six environmental monitoring samples.
Analysis of these isolates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta showed that “Their close genetic link” They are also linked to type 2 poliovirus derived from a vaccine strain that circulated in Egypt in 2023, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.
The World Health Organization reiterated on Tuesday that “high risk” The spread of poliovirus in Gaza and internationally “If this epidemic does not receive a quick and optimal response”.
“We are yet to collect human samples because of a lack of equipment to do so and a lack of laboratory capacity to test these samples””, explains Dr. Sapalbekov.
A team from the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) will travel to Gaza on Thursday, expected to bring up to 50 test kits to collect human samples before sending them to Jordan.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization and its partners are assessing the extent of polio virus transmission. Dr Sapalbekov hopes to publish the recommendations on Sunday, but “Given the current water hygiene and sanitation restrictions in Gaza, it is difficult for people to follow recommendations to wash hands and drink safe water”.
In response, Israel launched massive air strikes on Gaza, followed by a ground offensive, killing more than 39,000 people, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-led Gaza government’s health ministry.
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