The Gaza Health Ministry has declared a polio epidemic, attributing the spread of the virus to a brutal military offensive by Israel. The ministry stressed that it poses a serious health risk to residents of Gaza and neighboring areas, and that the public health emergency has been exacerbated by Israeli actions since October, it said in a statement on Telegram.

Describing the outbreak as a “major setback” to global polio eradication efforts, the ministry called for urgent action to stop Israeli aggression and address underlying issues such as inadequate access to clean drinking water, poor sanitation, damaged sewage systems and waste accumulation.

Polio outbreak in Gaza

Poliomyelitis is spread primarily by the fecal-oral route, usually through the consumption of contaminated water or food. It is a highly contagious virus that can cause paralysis.

Thanks to widespread vaccination efforts, global polio cases have decreased dramatically by 99% since 1988, marking a significant milestone in the fight against this debilitating disease.

However, Gaza’s Ministry of Health, in coordination with UNICEF, has recently detected “components of poliovirus type 2” in sewage, particularly in areas where displaced residents are living in tents, raising concerns about contamination of Gaza’s scarce drinking water.

Amid the ongoing war in Gaza, a variant of the poliovirus has been detected in the region’s sewage. Traces of the virus were found in six samples collected from Khan Younis and Deir al Balah in June.

Historically, polio was caused by the wild poliovirus, but cases have decreased significantly since the 1960s thanks to effective vaccines.

However, vaccine-derived poliovirus has become a problem, especially in areas with low immunity. The strain found in Gaza’s sewage is type 2 vaccine-derived poliovirus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has sent more than 1 million doses of vaccines to Gaza to protect children against type 2 poliovirus, to be delivered in the coming weeks.

Massive vaccination campaigns have reduced polio cases worldwide by 99% since 1988, and efforts are ongoing to eliminate it.

Along with polio, the United Nations reported last week that cases of hepatitis A, dysentery and gastroenteritis are also rising in Gaza, as sanitation has worsened, with sewage spilling into streets near some camps for displaced people.

The ongoing conflict has caused severe damage to Gaza’s water and sewage infrastructure, resulting in sewage spilling onto streets near displacement camps, increasing the risk of waterborne diseases.

As Gaza grapples with this health crisis, urgent international support and intervention is vital to prevent the disease from spreading further and mitigate its impact on the region’s already vulnerable population.