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Polio virus found in Gaza, urgent health measures needed: UN agencies

Senior UN agency officials on Friday warned that poliovirus has been detected in environmental samples in the war-torn Gaza Strip and said the top priority now is to restore order and introduce corresponding emergency health measures in the besieged enclave.

Tests conducted by the Global Polio Laboratory Network have confirmed the presence of poliovirus in six sewage samples collected on June 23 from Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah in Gaza, according to UN officials.

The latest health threat has been exacerbated by severe overcrowding caused by repeated forced displacement, scarce and contaminated water supplies, accumulated garbage and the limited access of humanitarian aid into Gaza, including hygiene supplies, according to UN officials.

Polio is a very contagious viral disease that attacks the nervous system and can cause paralysis within hours, although no cases have been found in the region, warned the UN World Health Organization (WHO).

"It's important to note that the virus has been isolated from the environment only at this time, and there's no associated paralytic case or any cases that have been detected. The coverage rates in Gaza were really optimal before the start of this ongoing war. Polio vaccination coverage is primarily conducted through routine immunization and was estimated at 89 percent in 2023, just according to the latest WHO-UNICEF region routine immunization estimates," said WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier.

According to the UN health agency, the escalation of hostilities in Gaza has led to a rise in deaths and injuries, severe overcrowding in camps and the disruption of health, water, and sewage systems, all contributing to the spread of infectious diseases.

As part of the response efforts, the WHO is working with the local health authority and partners including the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza to conduct risk assessments, determine the scope of poliovirus spread and decide on measures necessary to stop it, including prompt vaccination campaigns.

UN agencies reiterated their call for an immediate halt to the fighting so that clean water could be brought in and sewage networks repaired.

The acute humanitarian crisis, desperation and scarcity is also affecting public order, greatly hindering related health response operations, said an official from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), adding that lawlessness is spreading in the Gaza Strip, with theft, unlawful killings, and shootings happening everywhere.

"There is no law enforcement. The law enforcement has been disbanded as I mentioned. In this scenario, of course there is looting. Some opportunistic, some in the north, more because they're hungry, and what people have been seeing as self-distribution. So, it is a combination of these things. But beyond that you also have many so-called family disputes in middle Gaza itself," said Ajith Sunghay, head of OHCHR for Occupied Palestinian Territory.

"You hear a lot of bullets flying. And this is not between only the IDF and the Palestinians. Within these communities there is chaos. There's no one enforcing any civic order. I will not call it as law and order because there is no law at this point in time there. So, this is the anarchy that we talk about, and it's extremely dangerous as well. We need to pay attention here. We want the police to be back on the street and to bring some order there," he said.

UNICEF spokesman James Elder emphasized that Israel has the responsibility to uphold its international obligations to ensure a steady inflow and normal distribution of aid to the civilian population in the Gaza Strip.

"This is the legal responsibility of Israel, not just to facilitate aid getting in, but then to facilitate the safe distribution of that aid. None of these things have been happening for nine months. Those people on the ground, in one of the most difficult operating environments of all time, to think that this is somehow because there are inefficiencies on the ground. What there are is disease on the ground, bombs from the sky and a deliberate, consistent willingness of authorities who have the legal and military power to prevent lifesaving aid going into Gaza," he said.

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