Gaza health ministry reports polio agent in sewage July 21, 2024
- Ana Cunha-Busch
- Jul 20, 2024
- 2 min read
By AFP - Agence France Presse
Gaza health ministry reports polio agent in sewage
William Mata
Health ministers in Gaza fear a “real health disaster” after traces of polio were found in sewage samples.
The serious and potentially fatal infection was once a devastating disease but has been largely eradicated worldwide thanks to improved hygiene and access to vaccines.
However, infected water, faulty sewage pipes, and overpopulation due to the displacement of Palestinians appear to have led to the re-emergence of polio in Gaza.
The enclave reported the discovery on Friday, alerting health authorities to the possibility of the infection spreading.
A statement from the Ministry of Health in Gaza said, “The Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip announces that in coordination with Unicef, tests were conducted on sewage samples that detected the presence of the poliomyelitis virus.
"The detection of the polio virus in sewage indicates a real health disaster and puts thousands of residents at risk of contracting poliomyelitis.
“The Ministry of Health calls for an immediate halt to Israeli aggression, the provision of drinking water, the repair of sewage pipes, and an end to the overcrowding of displaced persons camps.”
Polio can damage the brain and nerves and in rare cases can lead to paralysis and death.
The symptoms are often milder and resemble the flu.
The call for peace comes as the conflict between Israel and Hamas, which broke out in October 2023, enters its tenth month.
More than 38,600 people in Gaza have been killed.
On Friday, one person was killed in Tel Aviv in a suspected Houthi drone attack. The attack followed the firing of more than 200 rockets into Israel by the Lebanese Hezbollah militia.
US President Joe Biden has declared that representatives of Hamas and Israel have agreed to a framework for a ceasefire.
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