Fear of polio in Gaza Strip increases

Abu al-Jedian and his wife Nevine, Palestinian residents of Gaza, fled their home in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip when Israel's war with Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, began in October last year. They raised their eight children in a difficult life from shelter to shelter.

Their children were a source of joy as they endured the hardships of refugee life. Their youngest child, Abdelrahman, born in September last year, just before the war broke out, was their treasure. He smiled readily, developed faster than his older siblings and was the centre of the family's affection.

Last month, Abdelrahman contracted polio and lost the use of his left leg forever. He was born during the war and never received any vaccinations, including against polio. There is no cure for polio once symptoms appear.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), polio vaccinations in Gaza were running smoothly before the war broke out. Health experts had feared that the ongoing war would lead to a virtual collapse of Gaza's health system, leading to outbreaks of preventable diseases such as polio. As Abdelrahman's infection shows, this fear has become a reality.

“The poliovirus spreads through contaminated water, including sewage. It is highly contagious,” warned the WHO. It is estimated that there are hundreds of children who are asymptomatic but are already infected with polio. At least two babies have already shown symptoms of polio, reported the Associated Press.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) will resume polio vaccinations for children in the Gaza Strip on August 31. However, there are doubts whether the vaccinations will go smoothly as ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel have stalled.

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