Gaza war elevates danger of a polio outbreak

Aug. 17 (UPI) -- The war in Gaza has prevented Hamas from vaccinating local children against the disease as displaced Palestinians crowd into tent encampments 10 months after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7.

Wastewater tests in July revealed the existence of the virus that causes polio in Khan Younis and Deir Al-Balah.

One person has tested positive for the disease that the Mayo Clinic said is an illness caused by a virus and primarily affects the nerves in the brain stem and spinal cord.

The World Health Organization said vaccinations eradicated polio in Gaza but the war has created a breeding ground for the virus that causes polio.

"The impact on the health system, insecurity, inaccessibility, population displacement and shortages of medical supplies have contributed to reduced immunization rates," the U.N. agencies reported.

"Coupled with poor quality of water and destruction of sanitation, there is a heightened risk of vaccine-preventable diseases, including polio and other outbreaks."

The WHO and UNICEF said the war needs to be paused to effectively vaccinate more than 640,000 children under 10 in Gaza. Each would need two doses of the polio vaccine type 2 to effectively protect children against polio.

Polio can cause partial paralysis and might lead to troubled breathing and death for those afflicted with it, according to the Mayo Clinic.

The United Nations said the vaccinations only could be done when the "safe and sustained access of protection of health workers" is assured.

U.N. agencies say only 16 of Gaza's 36 hospitals are "partially functional" while 48 out of 109 primary healthcare facilities are operational.

Before the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, about 99% of Gazans were vaccinated against polio, but that percentage dropped to less than 90% during the first quarter of 2024, the WHO and UNICEF reported.

Polio cases decreased from 350,000 globally in 1988 to only 12 in 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported .

Before polio vaccines became available in the 1950s, polio paralyzed more than 15,000 people each year in the United States.