Palestinain Ministry of Health in Gaza has warned of a new pelerious virus spreading in sewage water that runs between displaced tents, on Thursday July 18.
The Ministry announced that it has conducted tests on sewage water samples in coordination with UNICEF, and the results show the water has contained a virus causing poliomyelitis.
The poliovirus in sewage water, which accumulates and flows among displacement tents and residential areas due to infrastructure destruction resulted from 10-month war, represents a new health catastrophe that would exacerbate the already devastated health system, the ministry added.
A combination of people’s overcrowding in tents, Israel’s restrictions on clean water and cleansing materials, sewage contamination, garbage accumulation, and the blockade preventing sanitation supplies entry all have created an incubation of various diseases, according to the sources.
Detection of the poliovirus in sewage water signals a real health disaster, posing a risk of polio to thousands of residents, especially those living in the tents and densely populated areas.
The Ministry of Health urges an immediate cessation of Israeli aggressions that deliberately target health system, provision of potable water, repair of sewage lines, and lessening the implications of population density in displacement areas.
Gaza Government Media Office reported that more than 1,737,524 displaced Palestinians have been inflicted with infectious diseases, 71338 of Hepatitis A, due to overcrowding.
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