Gaza Reports First Polio Case in 25 Years Amid War, UN Urges Vaccine Pause

Gaza Reports First Polio Case in 25 Years Amid War, UN Urges Vaccine Pause

The Palestinian health ministry announced on Friday that Gaza has recorded its first polio case in 25 years. The diagnosis was confirmed in a 10-month-old unvaccinated child from the central Gaza Strip, following tests conducted in Jordan. This development comes as the region endures its 11th month of conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The United Nations had recently detected traces of type 2 poliovirus in Gaza’s wastewater, highlighting the ongoing threat. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for two seven-day pauses in the fighting to vaccinate over 640,000 children in Gaza, stressing the urgency of preventing a polio outbreak.

Poliovirus, a highly infectious disease spread through contaminated water and sewage, poses severe risks, including paralysis and death, particularly for children under five. The World Health Organization and UNICEF have prepared plans for two vaccination campaigns in Gaza starting late August, contingent on a ceasefire.

Guterres emphasized the need for coordinated efforts to combat the spread of polio, urging all parties to provide the necessary assurances for humanitarian pauses. The re-emergence of polio in Gaza, after a 25-year absence, poses a significant threat not only to the local population but also to neighboring countries.

The planned vaccination campaign aims to administer the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) to more than 640,000 children under the age of 10. Over 1.6 million doses of the vaccine are expected to arrive via Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport by the end of August.

The ongoing conflict, triggered by Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, has claimed over 40,000 lives in Gaza according to local health ministry reports. The need for a temporary halt in hostilities has become increasingly urgent to address the emerging health crisis and ensure the safety and well-being of Gaza’s children.