Amid the ongoing genocidal war committed by the usurping entity in the Gaza Strip, the Strip appears this time facing a new disaster creeping between the alleys of the camps, which is the polio virus that is found in the sewage flowing between the tents of the displaced.  

The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip declared a “new health disaster” with the detection of the polio virus in wastewater.

 

They indicated in a statement, “Examinations of sewage samples were conducted in coordination with (the United Nations Children’s Fund) UNICEF, and the results showed the presence of the virus.”

The declaration continues: “Detecting this virus exposes thousands of residents to the risk of contracting polio in the sewage that is collected and running between the tents of the displaced and in residential places as a result of the destruction of infrastructure represents a new health disaster.”

 

The Ministry added, “There is severe crowding, the scarcity of available water, its contamination with sewage, the accumulation of tons of garbage, and the occupation’s prevention of introducing hygiene materials, which constitutes an environment suitable for the spread of epidemics.”

In addition, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, revealed, “The occupation deprived the children of the Strip of 4 periodic vaccinations, explaining at the same time that the polio virus infects those under five years old and its incubation period extends to 35 days.”

Abu Safiya explained that the usurping entity also deliberately does not allow the entering of potable water and healthy and clean food, which creates a fertile environment for the spreading of this virus.

Dr. Abu Safiya declared, “This virus almost ended completely in 1988, and there was global talk about its complete eradication by the year 2026,” expressing his regret at the resumption of talk about its spread again.

This comes after the usurping entity destroyed most of the treatment plants and all components of the health sector, including hospitals and health centers, and hindered municipal teams of dealing with the sanitation crisis. Which is considered acrime against humanity and genocidal war that history had never witnessed before.