The World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday it would send more than 1 million polio vaccines to Gaza after the virus was detected in wastewater in the Palestinian territory.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said health workers need freedom of movement in Gaza to administer vaccines, and said a ceasefire, or at least “a few days of calm,” was critical to protecting Gaza’s children through routine vaccinations.
“WHO is shipping more than 1 million polio vaccines to be administered in the coming weeks,” he said at a news conference.
“The detection of polio in wastewater in Gaza is a sign that the virus is circulating in the community, endangering unvaccinated children.”
As of this writing, no clinical cases have been detected.
Andrea King, of WHO's global health cluster team, said the vaccination campaign would be a “huge logistical challenge.”
“Vaccines and related cold chain supplies needed to enter Gaza… as well as micro-planning in Gaza,” he told a news conference.
“The hope is that if all goes well, the vaccines will arrive on time for the planned vaccination date later this month, the first round will start on August 17.”
On July 30, the health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza declared the Palestinian territory a “polio epidemic zone” and blamed Israeli military attacks since Hamas's October 7 offensive and the destruction of health facilities for the resurgence of the virus.
The ministry said the virus was detected in wastewater samples taken in the Khan Younis region, as well as other areas in central Gaza.
Poliovirus is highly contagious and is often spread through contaminated wastewater or clean water. The virus can cause disability and paralysis, and is potentially fatal. Poliovirus primarily affects children under the age of 5.
The wild version of the virus is now endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but the oral vaccine, which contains a small amount of weakened poliovirus, still causes outbreaks elsewhere.
UN agencies say the type-2 polio virus from the vaccine has been detected in Gaza sewage samples.
The oral polio vaccine replicates in the gut and can be transmitted to others through water contaminated with feces; meaning it will not harm vaccinated children, but it can infect other unvaccinated children in settings with low levels of hygiene and immunization.
The Gaza war was sparked by an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, resulting in the deaths of some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli figures.
Palestinian militants are also holding about 250 hostages, 111 of whom are still being held in Gaza, including 39 who the Israeli military says have been killed.
Israel's retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 39,677 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not break down civilian and militant deaths. (th/ab)
