The first case of polio was confirmed on Friday through lab tests in Amman, Jordan, the Ministry announced.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health warned on Saturday that the detection of the first confirmed case of polio in Gaza is an indicator of the existence of hundreds of undetected cases.
“It is scientifically known that for every 200 virus infections, only one will show the full symptoms of polio, while the remaining cases may present mild symptoms such as a cold or a slight fever,” Minister of Health Majed Abu Ramadan said in a press briefing.
Abu Ramadan revealed that an extensive polio vaccination campaign will start in the coming few days for children under the age of ten in Gaza and will be under the supervision of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Health Minister explained that the vaccination campaign will be carried out in two phases; the first will involve 1.2 million doses of the type 2 polio vaccine and the second upon the procurement of an additional 400,000 doses.
The first case of polio was confirmed on Friday through lab tests in Amman, Jordan, the Ministry announced, and comes a month after the virus that causes polio, which has a 15-30 percent fatality rate, was detected in the water in the besieged enclave.
The announcement comes amid “the challenging health conditions in the Gaza Strip, including the spread of infectious diseases, the overflow of sewage into streets and among displaced persons’ tents, and the lack of personal hygienic supplies and clean drinking water,” the Health Ministry said.
The WHO said last month that the vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (VDPV2) was found” at six locations in sewage samples collected on June 23 from Gaza’s Khan Yunis and Deir Al-Balah areas.
The highly contagious viral disease attacks the nervous system and can cause total paralysis within hours.
The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a critical “polio pause” to facilitate a vaccination campaign in Gaza.
Polio Outbreak Expected in ‘Next Number of Days, Weeks’ – Experts
Staggering Death Toll
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 40,099 Palestinians have been killed, and 92,609 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
(Anadolu, WAFA, PC)
