POLIO virus found in Gaza sewage, claim health authorities

07/23/2024 / By Belle Carter

The Gaza Health Ministry revealed that variant type 2 poliovirus (cVDPV) was present in sewage water samples from different collection sites in two sub-regions devastated by Israeli military offensives. The tests were carried out in cooperation with the United Nations Children’s Fund.

The said findings may inflict a potential health disaster as the risk of contracting the highly infectious disease can cause deformities and paralysis, and a possible spread of it across the Middle East is not far-fetched.

According to the study, the poliovirus was detected in Gaza sewage samples tested in an Israeli laboratory.

“The presence of poliovirus in wastewater that collects and flows between displacement camp tents and in inhabited areas because of the destruction of infrastructure marks a new health disaster,” the Gaza Health Ministry said, highlighting “severe overcrowding” and “scarce water” as major causes of sewage contamination and the accumulation of rubbish.

World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Christian Lindmeier also released a statement claiming the same findings at six sewage systems locations in the enclave. Lindmeier called the finding “extremely worrying.” Polio is a fecal-oral disease and infections can be linked to contaminated and poor sewage systems.

Authorities in the Deir el-Balah also predicted that roads would be flooded by wastewater and “diseases will spread” after it turned off sewage water pumping and treatment stations.

“We are talking about a very grim medical reality,” said Al Jazeera‘s Tareq Abu Azzoum, who was reporting from the Gazan city.

Israel’s refusal to let hygiene supplies into Gaza by blocking borders and controlling passageways of humanitarian assistance was to be blamed. The halt of delivery of supplies brings forth “a suitable environment for the spread of different diseases.”

“The detection of poliovirus in wastewater threatens a real health disaster and places thousands of people at risk of contracting polio,” the Health Ministry added.

Pediatric intensive care physician Tanya Haj-Hassan said that if a person has polio, he/she has to be isolated and make sure that nobody else uses the bathroom and that the patient is not close to other people. But in Gaza’s case, “that is impossible,” she said.

“You have everybody clustering in refugee camps at the moment without vaccines for at least the past nine months, including children who would otherwise have been vaccinated for polio and adults who, in the setting of an outbreak, should receive a booster, including healthcare workers,” she added.

She further warned that the spread of the disease among healthcare workers would be catastrophic as the current healthcare system already was “annihilated by direct targeting, by abductions of healthcare workers, by the killing of healthcare workers.”

Israeli troops to receive polio shots, reports reveal

Meanwhile, the Israeli Ministry of Health earlier claimed it had evidence of a virus found in sewage samples. The ministry instructed the Israeli army to vaccinate all troops in the Gaza Strip as well as those who are about to enter and recommended a booster for those already vaccinated.

“The decimation of the health system, lack of security, access obstruction, constant population displacement, shortages of medical supplies, poor quality of water and weakened sanitation are increasing the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases, including polio,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is concerned about the prospect of a polio outbreak given the sanitary situation in Gaza so it has launched a polio vaccination campaign for its soldiers in Gaza after the virus was detected in the enclave’s sewage system. The vaccination campaign, which is on a voluntary basis, covers all forces in regular service in the Gaza Strip and reserves, the Times of Israel reported. (Related: Polio vaccines are the problem, not the solution.)

“The IDF will work in coordination with the Health Ministry to ensure the health of IDF soldiers and the public, and will continue to carry out inspections in the Gaza Strip,” a spokesperson said. IDF soldiers were also instructed to take preventive actions and maintain personal hygiene.

The IDF is also reportedly working with international organizations to bring more vaccines into the beleaguered enclave. According to a statement by WHO, the war between Israel and Hamas has disrupted routine immunization programs in Gaza and children are at increased risk for diseases such as polio.

Head over to Infections.news to read stories similar to this.

Watch the video below that talks about other health conditions that arise in Gaza due to Israel’s destruction of water facilities.

This video is from Cynthia’s Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com.