A TEN-MONTH-OLD baby in Gaza has been paralysed due to polio as the region recorded its first case of the disease in 25 years.

Last month, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that the polio virus was detected in wastewater samples in Gaza and the Israeli military began to vaccinate its soldiers operating in Gaza as a result. 

Poliovirus is highly infectious, and most often spreads through sewage and contaminated water – an increasingly common problem in Gaza as the war drags on.

The disease mainly affects children under the age of five. It can cause deformities and paralysis, and is potentially fatal.

The WHO warned that it was “just a matter of time before it reaches the thousands of children who have been left unprotected” in Gaza.

In a statement late last night, WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed a “10-month-old unvaccinated child from Deir al-Balah, Gaza, has been confirmed to have polio”.

He said that genomic sequencing confirmed the virus is linked to the variant poliovirus type 2, which was detected in samples collected from Gaza’s wastewater.

I am gravely concerned that a 10-month-old unvaccinated child from Deir al-Balah, #Gaza, has been confirmed to have polio—the first case in Gaza in 25 years. @WHO and partners urgently worked to collect and transfer stool samples from the child for testing at a WHO-accredited…

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) August 22, 2024

The type 2 virus has been responsible for most outbreaks in recent years, especially in areas with low vaccination rates.

Ghebreyesus said the baby developed paralysis in the lower left leg and is currently in a stable condition.

He added: “Given the high risk of poliovirus spread in Gaza and the region, the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the WHO, and UNICEF are working to implement two rounds of polio vaccination in the coming weeks to halt transmission”.

The WHO is sending around one million polio vaccines to Gaza but said that without an immediate ceasefire, “people will continue to die from preventable diseases”.

The WHO also noted that polio “thrives in places hit by conflict and instability” – in 2017, an outbreak of a polio variant left 74 children paralysed.

In a statement today, the general commission for the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, said “polio will not make the distinction between Palestinian and Israeli children”.

He added: “Delaying a humanitarian pause will increase the risk of spread among children.”

Very sad. @WHO confirms that a 10-month-old baby in #Gaza is now paralysed due to #Polio. The first case in more than 25 years.

Polio will not make the distinction between Palestinian & Israeli children.
Delaying a humanitarian pause will increase the risk of spread among…

— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) August 23, 2024

Lazzarini also remarked that it is “not enough to bring the vaccines into Gaza and protect the cold chain”.

“To have an impact, the vaccines must end up in the mouths of every child under the age of 10,” said Lazzarini.

Only 11 facilities in Gaza are capable of maintaining the cold chain.

Cold chain components, including refrigerators, arrived Wednesday at Israel’s main international airport.

The vaccines would first be kept at a UN storage space in central Gaza, and then distributed to public and private health facilities as well as UNRWA shelters.

Lazzarini said the since the war began in Gaza, UN medical teams have delivered vaccines through its mobile health teams.

“With thanks to these efforts, 80% of children across Gaza have received vaccines against different childhood diseases,” said Lazzarini.

However, the WHO said at least 95% vaccination coverage during each round of the campaign is needed to prevent the spread of polio and reduce the risk of its re-emergence, given the severely disrupted health, water and sanitation systems in the Gaza Strip. 

The Gaza Strip had a high level of vaccination coverage across the population before 7 October.

However, routine immunisation coverage for the second dose of inactivated polio vaccine dropped from 99% in 2022 to less than 90% in the first quarter of 2024.

This increases the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases to children, including polio.   

Contacted by the AFP news agency, an Israeli defence ministry body overseeing civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, COGAT, did not directly mention the planned UN vaccination campaign, but said that “on the issue of polio, a joint effort will be made together with the international community”.

A COGAT spokesman promised “full cooperation”.

-With additional reporting from - © AFP 2024