WHO warns of high risk of polio outbreak in Gaza

Since October 7 last year, 39,090 people have been killed and 90,147 injured as a result of the Israeli occupation. Source: EFE

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July 23, 2024 Time: 13:42.

The UN has repeatedly said that Israel’s evacuation orders from the Gaza Strip are increasing the suffering of Palestinian families.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday expressed extreme concern over a possible widespread polio outbreak in Gaza after detecting vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (VDPV2) in six environmental samples taken in Lupe.

During a UN video conference, WHO health emergencies team leader Ayadil Saparbekov said: “I am extremely concerned about an outbreak that could happen in the Gaza Strip.”

Saparbekov assured that measures must be taken immediately, since there is a high risk of the outbreak spreading inside Gaza and beyond.

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He also expressed concern about various outbreaks of infectious diseases that could occur in the city.

On the other hand, the head of WHO emergency services in the occupied Palestinian territories, Ayadil Saberkov, stressed: “We believe that there is a high risk of spread of the circulating poliovirus not only because of its detection, but also because of the serious situation with water supply and sanitation in the sector.”

Saberkov said that the WHO is conducting an epidemiological investigation and will then determine an action plan based on its results.

In this sense, he acknowledged that the constant attacks by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip will make the implementation of the measures extremely difficult.

Meanwhile, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) assured: “As of 22 July, almost 83% of the Gaza Strip is under evacuation orders or declared a ‘no-go zone’ by the Israeli army.”

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OCHA announced in its report that this Monday the Zionist entity ordered the evacuation of Palestinians living in the east and center of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, which means that “the area of ​​the humanitarian zone designated by the Israeli army has decreased by 14.8%, from 58.9 square kilometers to 50.2 square kilometers.”

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The organization warns that repeated evacuation orders, coupled with constant attacks, are making the situation even more difficult for Palestinian families.

OCHA warns that repeated Israeli evacuation orders and attacks continue to “further undermine Gaza’s health system, making it difficult for the repeatedly displaced population, particularly those with chronic health conditions, to access basic services.”

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