The health ministry of the Hamas government in Gaza announced Thursday that tests have shown the presence of the polio virus in several samples of sewage water in the sector, denouncing it as a "health disaster." The ministry stated in a statement that "the results of the tests conducted on sewage samples in coordination with UNICEF revealed the presence of the virus causing polio." Polio is a viral disease currently endemic in only two countries, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The ministry added that this discovery "in the sewage water flowing among the tents of displaced persons" in the Palestinian sector "forebodes a real health disaster and exposes thousands of residents to the risk of this disease." After nine months of war in the Gaza Strip, sewage pumps in Deir al-Balah, in the center of the sector, stopped working on Tuesday due to a fuel shortage, according to the municipality. Stagnant sewage water, heaps of garbage, and debris create a "favorable environment for the spread of various epidemics," the ministry said, calling for an "immediate halt to the Israeli aggression."
Meanwhile, the Israeli health ministry stated in a statement that polio virus "type 2" has been detected in sewage samples from the Gaza area. According to the World Health Organization, this strain was eradicated in 1999. The ministry added that these samples "were tested in an Israeli laboratory accredited by the World Health Organization," which raises concerns about the presence of the virus in the region. It noted that it is "monitoring" the situation to prevent the spread of "the risk of infection in Israel."
