NEW YORK July 30. 2024 (Saba) - World Health Organization (WHO) spokesman Christian Lindmeier said polio cases are likely to emerge in the Gaza Strip, which could represent a setback for international efforts to eradicate the disease.
Lindmeier told a U.N. news conference on Tuesday that Gazans "may already have been sick, but it is difficult to detect cases of this deadly virus because most of them are asymptomatic."
Gaza's health ministry announced the resurgence of polio in the enclave late on Monday after samples of the disease virus were found in sewage. But it has not yet announced any cases of the disease.
"Finding vaccine-derived poliovirus in wastewater suggests it is present in some people. This represents a high probability of an outbreak of the virus, and it would be a major setback for global efforts."
He noted that an investigation and risk assessment were still ongoing in the Gaza Strip.
According to Lindmeier, polio is now only present in Pakistan and Afghanistan, but more than 30 countries are still classified as vulnerable to outbreaks, including Egypt and Israel, which neighbors Gaza.
He pointed out that any country is at risk of a resurgence of polio if new infections are not contained with mass vaccination campaigns for the population.
The World Health Organization has already announced the dispatch of more than one million vaccines to prevent children in Gaza from the disease.
Polio, which spreads mainly through feces and mouths, is a highly contagious virus that can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis and death in young children.
Polio cases have declined by 99 per cent worldwide since 1988 thanks to widespread vaccination campaigns and ongoing efforts to eradicate polio completely.
E.M
resource : Saba
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