*Health officials warn of catastrophic polio epidemic in Gaza* *‘An entirely preventable disaster’* In July health officials in Gaza detected the polio virus in the water. Now, the threat of a polio outbreak has been declared an epidemic, and officials are demanding an immediate ceasefire and vaccination campaign "before it's too late." by Tareq S. Hajjaj, Mondoweiss, August 2, 2024 https://mondoweiss.net/2024/08/an-entirely-preventable-disaster-health-officials-warn-of-catastrophic-polio-epidemic-in-gaza/ . . . For months the Gaza Ministry of Health and other international public health agencies have warned of the spread of diseases due to the lack of clean water and untreated sewage in the streets. In mid-July, in cooperation with the World Health Organization, the Gaza health ministry conducted an analysis of samples of sewage water in the Gaza Strip, and found the presence of poliomyelitis, or as it is more commonly known, the polio virus. . . . Dr. Jamal al-Homs, Director of the Kuwait Specialized Hospital in Rafah, says that there has been a significant and noticeable increase in various epidemic diseases that are now spreading rapidly throughout the Gaza Strip.
“Today, the polio virus has returned due to the lack of a proper sewage system, the lack of clean and potable water, and the lack of the possibility of general hygiene due to the accumulation of garbage and the inability of citizens to maintain general hygiene,” he told Mondoweiss.. Al-Homs stressed that if the polio disease spreads in Gaza, there will be no way to stop it under the current conditions. . . . According to doctors and public health experts, a host of preventable diseases and infections are already running rampant in Gaza, and with a barely-functioning health system, most people, like Abu Luli’s family, can’t get basic treatment. . . . Emphasizing the need for a mass vaccination campaign, and for Israel to allow shipments of aid and medicine into Gaza, Asi pointed to the fact that the Israeli military had begun a campaign to offer polio booster vaccines to its soldiers following the news that the virus was detected in Gaza. “The IDF recognizes that this is a problem… they don’t want [their soldiers] to return to Israel and spread polio there,” Asi said. “…And they’re taking care to make sure that their aquifers are protected because a polio outbreak they know is devastating to a population.” . . . Highlighting the WHO’s calls for an immediate ceasefire, Asi said that a cessation of hostilities to allow the entry of vaccines and permit health officials to distribute them to the population is the first, and most basic step to address the public health disaster in Gaza. “The problem is we are past the point where a ceasefire alone is going to end suffering for people,” she said. “We will see the ramifications of this for months, years, possibly generations. The spread of disease is not going to stop the day of a ceasefire. That’s going to take weeks, months, again, potentially years to get under control.” # # # On Mon, Jul 22, 2024 at 8:08 AM Dennis Brasky via groups.io <dmozart1756= [email protected]> wrote: > Polio had been eradicated in the Gaza Strip but was detected this past > week. While it is unclear how it has suddenly reappeared it is beyond doubt > how it’s spreading: Israel's systematic destruction of Gaza's health > infrastructure. > > > https://mondoweiss.net/2024/07/polio-and-the-destruction-of-gazas-health-infrastructure/ > _._,_._ > > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#31451): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/31451 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/107485625/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
