The highly infectious poliovirus has been detected in sewage samples in Gaza, posing a significant health risk to thousands of Palestinians. The discovery has been confirmed by Gaza’s Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO), both of which conducted tests that identified the virus in sewage water.
“Poliovirus type 2 (VDPV2) had been identified at six locations in sewage samples collected on 23 June from Khan Younis and Deir al Balah,” WHO announced on Friday. The organization attributed the presence of the virus to the “disastrous sanitation situation” resulting from Israel’s military actions in Gaza following the Hamas attacks on October 7.
WHO emphasized that the virus has so far only been detected in the environment, and no cases of paralysis or other symptoms associated with polio have been reported. However, the organization warned that Gaza’s residents now face the looming threat of the disease.
Various United Nations agencies, including UNICEF and UNRWA, are collaborating with local health authorities to assess the extent of the virus’s spread. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted that prior to the conflict, polio vaccination rates in Gaza were “optimal,” but the ongoing war has created conditions that facilitate the spread of diseases like polio.
“The decimation of the health system, lack of security, access obstruction, constant population displacement, shortages of medical supplies, poor quality of water, and weakened sanitation are increasing the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases, including polio,” Tedros warned.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza called for immediate measures to improve hygiene and safety, warning that the detection of the polio virus in sewage “portends a real health disaster” and exposes thousands to the risk of contracting the disease. The ministry has also called for an “immediate halt to the Israeli aggression.”
According to WHO, wild poliovirus was eradicated from Gaza more than 25 years ago, with pre-war vaccination coverage reaching 95% in 2022. However, polio can re-emerge when inadequate vaccination coverage allows the weakened virus strain from the oral vaccine to mutate into a more potent version capable of causing paralysis.
The ongoing conflict has further exacerbated the health crisis in Gaza. Hospitals in central Gaza reported that more than 20 people were killed in two Israeli airstrikes on houses in the Nuseirat area. According to a CNN correspondent on the ground, the majority of the casualties were women and children. CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment on the reported strikes.
