The Palestinian Ministry of Health revealed, “the registration of the first confirmed case of polio in the Gaza Strip.”
The ministry explained that it “recorded the first confirmed case of polio in the Gaza Strip in the city of Deir al-Balah, in a 10-month-old infant.”
The statement added that the infected person “did not receive any dose of the vaccine against the disease, as doctors suspected the presence of symptoms consistent with polio, and after conducting the necessary tests in the Jordanian capital, Amman, the infection with the strain of polio virus derived from the vaccine was confirmed.”
The ministry confirmed in a statement that it “will implement a vaccination campaign in the coming few days targeting children under the age of 10 years, as one million and two hundred thousand doses of the second type of polio vaccine have been provided in coordination with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and work is underway to provide another four hundred thousand doses.”
“The lack of basic hygiene needs, the lack of sanitation services, the accumulation of waste in the streets and around the shelters of the displaced, and the lack of safe drinking water have created an environment conducive to the spread and transmission of many epidemics, including waterborne diseases such as vaccine-derived polio,” the ministry said.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health issued an “urgent appeal to international organizations and bodies to take immediate action to rebuild safe drinking water and sanitation systems, dispose of medical and solid waste, bring in fuel to pump clean fresh water, and allow unconditional entry of medical supplies, medicines, and personal hygiene materials.”
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2024-08-19 00:22:06