How Polio has returned to Gaza? : Valley Vision

On 26 July, nearing 10 months of Israel’s ongoing genocidal war on Gaza, Gaza’s Ministry of Health, in cooperation with UNICEF, the UN children’s agency, reported the preliminary findings of “component poliovirus type 2.” The components were found in samples of sewage water in Gaza’s Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis, putting thousands of Palestinians across the Gaza Strip at risk of paralysis and death. 

According to the Health Ministry, the virus had been identified in the sewage surrounding the tents, exposing it to an already heavily populated region experiencing water scarcity. As a result, the drinking water supplies in the area were susceptible to viral contamination.

By 30 July, the Ministry had declared Gaza as  a “polio epidemic zone”, holding Israel’s 10-month war operations as accountable for the virus’s resurgence as a result of extensive damage inflicted on medical facilities as well as sanitation systems . 

After 25 years, the first case of polio was recorded in Gaza in mid-August involving a 10-month-old boy, Abdel-Rahman Abu El-Jedian and his family living in a tent in Deir el-Balah. The sample was sent to Jordan, from where the presence of  ‘Poliovirus Type 2’ was confirmed.  Soon after the first case was reported, health officials in Gaza have announced that several children are exhibiting polio-like symptoms, similar to those of the initial patient’s, such as fever and limited mobility. Overall, WHO indicates three cases of paralysis have been reported so far.

Initially, Israel’s frequent orders of forced displacement interfered with the UN’s operations in Gaza by forcing Palestinians to constantly relocate. However, the World Health Organization was able to reach an agreement with Israel for a vaccination campaign that would encompass Gaza’s central, southern, and northern regions. Israel agreed to 3 day “pauses” in its assault lasting from early morning until afternoon.

The Polio Vaccination campaign began on the first of September in central Gaza after which health authorities plan to next move to other regions. Over 1.2 million doses of polio vaccination have been sent by the WHO and UNICEF, to be given to over 640,000 children in Gaza who are younger than ten years old. In addition, there will be another 400,000 dosages delivered.

The vaccinations will be given by over 2,100 health and humanitarian workers in Gaza at about 700 hospitals, mobile clinics, and shelters. Four weeks following the initial dosages, they will require another booster round of vaccines. 

Prior to 7 October, the vaccination rate for polio was approximately 99 percent in Gaza in 2022, but as a result of the war and the fact that vaccinated children are susceptible to Type 2, the rate of vaccination among infants has drastically dropped. The chief W.H.O. Representative in Gaza, Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, told reporters on Thursday that in order to prevent the disease from spreading, at least 90% of children under 10 need to be vaccinated.