Gaza Reports First Polio Case in 25 Years; UN Calls for Vaccinations

Gaza has reported its first case of polio in 25 years, as confirmed by the Palestinian health ministry, following a call by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for temporary pauses in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict to vaccinate hundreds of thousands of children.

The health ministry in Ramallah stated that tests conducted in Jordan identified the disease in a 10-month-old child from central Gaza who had not been vaccinated.

This case marks Gaza’s first polio occurrence in over two decades, although type 2 poliovirus had already been detected in the region’s wastewater back in June, according to the United Nations.

“Doctors noticed symptoms consistent with polio,” the ministry explained. “Subsequent tests in Amman, Jordan, confirmed the infection.”

This development comes shortly after Guterres urged for two seven-day halts in the conflict to allow for the vaccination of more than 640,000 children in Gaza.

Poliovirus, primarily transmitted through sewage and contaminated water, is highly contagious and can lead to severe deformities, paralysis, and even death, particularly affecting children under the age of five.

The U.N. health and children’s agencies have laid out detailed plans to reach children throughout the besieged territory, with vaccination efforts potentially starting this month—provided there are pauses in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

“Preventing and controlling the spread of polio will require a massive, coordinated, and urgent effort,” Guterres emphasized at U.N. headquarters in New York. He urged all parties to provide immediate guarantees for humanitarian pauses to facilitate the vaccination campaign.

The World Health Organization and UNICEF are planning two week-long vaccination campaigns across Gaza, focusing on type 2 poliovirus (cVDPV2), starting in late August.

The reappearance of polio in Gaza after 25 years poses a risk not only to the territory but also to neighboring regions. “A ceasefire is essential to ensure public health security in Gaza and the surrounding areas,” the U.N. agencies warned.

During each phase of the vaccination campaign, the Gaza health ministry, in collaboration with U.N. agencies, aims to administer two drops of the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) to more than 640,000 children under the age of 10.

Over 1.6 million doses of nOPV2 are expected to arrive through Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport by the end of August.

The ongoing conflict, which began following Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, has resulted in significant casualties. As of Thursday, the Gaza health ministry reported that the death toll from Israel’s retaliatory military actions in the region has exceeded 40,000.