The virus has a “high risk” of spreading “within Gaza and internationally if this outbreak is not responded to promptly and optimally,” the World Health Organization said.
As polio was discovered in wastewater samples, studies have raised serious concerns among humanitarian organizations and public health experts worldwide that the virus may be moving to Gaza.
There is little chance that the war-torn community could contain an epidemic of the very infectious illness given its current problems with inadequate sanitation, a collapsing healthcare system, and declining vaccination rates.
“It would be catastrophic,” said Dr. Mithqal Abutaha, the program manager of Project HOPE, a humanitarian group focused on global health that operates clinics in Gaza where polio has been found in sewage.
It’s unclear if medical professionals in Gaza have the means to test for polio, even though there haven’t been any confirmed cases in humans.
Less than half of Gaza’s primary care facilities are in operation, and 16 of the 36 hospitals are only “partially functional,” according to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a division of the World Health Organization.
Abutaha said, “The infrastructure for health care is ruined.” “The capacity to contain this outbreak is insufficient.”
The circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 was detected in wastewater samples collected from two locations in Gaza, Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis, according to tests, according to Ayadil Saparbekov, WHO team head for health crises in Gaza and the West Bank, who made the announcement at a briefing on Tuesday.
“If this epidemic is not addressed to swiftly and ideally, WHO believes there to be a significant risk” that the virus may spread “within Gaza and internationally,” according to Saparbekov.
Although the wastewater samples were collected on June 23, which is a full month ago, the findings were available on July 16.
Sean Carroll, president and chief executive of Anera, a nonprofit that offers humanitarian help to the Middle East, particularly Gaza, said, “Imagine how much spread there could have been in that time.” “Things could get much worse.”
Although the polio vaccination has not been administered in the United States since 2000, it is being administered in other countries of the globe. This strain of the virus was discovered in wastewater from Gaza. The oral vaccination employs a live, weakened strain of the poliovirus.
This virus may be passed on via feces, which is a particularly concerning risk factor in a community where cleanliness has declined dramatically in recent times. Following Hamas’ assault on Israel on October 7, Israel severed its supply of gasoline, power, and water to the Gaza Strip.
Children in Gaza are left in danger.
Before the conflict between Israel and Hamas that ensued after the strike, there was a high rate of polio vaccination coverage in Gaza.
Estimates from UNICEF and the World Health Organization put the polio vaccination rate in the occupied Palestinian area (which includes Gaza and the West Bank) at 99% in 2022.
Since then, the proportion has dropped to 89%, according to the organizations.
“Thousands of children are still susceptible to contracting this specific strain,” said Dr. Javed Ali, who oversees the emergency response for the nonprofit humanitarian assistance group International Medical Corps in Gaza. “It truly is a nightmare.”
Carroll said that in order to assist contain a possible epidemic, 250,000 children in Gaza who are five years old or younger are expected to need vaccinations during a teleconference with the WHO and other humanitarian organizations on Tuesday. The oral drops that contain such immunizations would need to be refrigerated. In a place where there are few options for refueling refrigeration equipment, that presents additional challenge.
According to Saparbekov, WHO and UNICEF personnel were due to go to Gaza on Thursday in order to gather samples of human feces for a risk assessment pertaining to the virus’s detection.
“Including the need for a mass vaccination campaign as well as what kind of vaccine should be used and what the age group of the population that will need to be vaccinated,” he said, adding that he hoped the assessment would be finished by the end of the week.
Vaccines against polio are thought to be quite effective and long-lasting. Four vaccinations are recommended by the CDC for children: at two months, four months, six to eighteen months, and finally approximately at age five.
To provide 99% protection, three doses are sufficient; the fourth dosage is intended to ensure lifelong protection. If visiting nations where polio is prevalent or if they weren’t given all of the doses when they were younger, some individuals could need an extra booster later in life.
Project HOPE’s Abutaha expressed frustration at the possibility of spreading polio in Gaza.
He said, “You are aware of what is going to occur over the next few days or months, but there is nothing you can do about it.”
