People killed since October 7, 2023 Close Sources: Hamas-controlled health authorities in Gaza / UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) / Israeli authorities Disclaimer: Figures from Hamas-controlled health authorities in Gaza do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, and may periodically be late. Figures from Israeli authorities show that around 1,200 civilians and soldiers were killed in connection with the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. 287 Israeli soldiers have been killed since October 27, 2023. None of the figures have been confirmed by independent sources. The Palestinian figures are updated daily. Figures from Israel are updated at least twice a week. Close More information about the figures The World Health Organization (WHO) has found poliovirus type 2 in six different places on the Gaza Strip. The virus settles in the nervous system, and in the worst case can lead to major disabilities. The disease especially affects children. – It can have serious consequences. Many children can be hurt. In addition to all the war damage, there will be disabled children who grow up with polio. Norwac doctor Geir Stay Andreassen says so. He is not surprised by the findings. The children themselves are smiling after nine months of war. Behind them is one of the many crowded streets. Photo: BASHAR TALEB / AFP So far, the virus has only been found in sewage and not in humans. But the sewage flows between the tents in the refugee camp where 90 percent of Gaza’s population now lives. This means that the virus can spread quickly, says the WHO. Polio is in the process of being eradicated, but has previously been a feared disease in large parts of the world. It is an acute contagious infection from the poliovirus, which can cause lambs. – The health service is more or less destroyed. It is mostly war injuries that are treated. If children get sick, it is difficult to get treatment, says Andreassen. Children under five exposed Before the war in the Gaza Strip broke out in October, 95 per cent of those living there had been vaccinated against polio, according to the WHO. But during the war, over 24,000 children have been born there, the health organization estimates. They have not been vaccinated. – I don’t think there has been any vaccination since 7 October. The entire healthcare system is on its knees, says Andreassen, who has worked in the Gaza Strip on several occasions since the war started. Doctors at al-Awda hospital in Gaza succeeded in saving the baby of a pregnant Palestinian woman who was killed in an Israeli attack. And it is especially children under the age of five who are affected by the polio virus. The WHO also says that nine months of war have created “perfect conditions” for this type of disease to spread. They are deeply concerned about this. Less than half of the hospitals in the Gaza Strip are partially functioning right now. Sunday morning in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. Photo: OMAR AL-QATTAA / AFP Massive Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip since October has destroyed houses and most of the infrastructure. There is a lack of clean water, toilets and a functioning sewage and drainage system. – Destruction of the health system, lack of security, constant displacement of the population, lack of medical equipment, low water quality and poor hygiene mean that diseases that can easily be prevented with vaccines are allowed to spread, says WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier. A girl walks along the street of the Jabalia refugee camp. The street is filled with garbage. Photo: OMAR AL-QATTAA / AFP Israel vaccinates soldiers The polio virus also worries the Israeli defense forces. On Sunday, it became known that Israeli soldiers can be vaccinated against polio before being sent into Gaza, writes the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. Geir Stray Andreassen is a doctor in NORWAC. According to the Israeli media, they start with the vaccination on Sunday, but it is voluntary for the soldiers to take the vaccine. Israel’s Ministry of Health says they are monitoring the situation and continuously evaluating what is necessary to prevent the spread of infection to Israel, writes The Guardian. Norwac starts up again in Gaza in August, when Andreassen will probably return. He says they have a huge job ahead of them. The latest figures from the health authorities down there say that nearly 40,000 have been killed in the war, and nearly 90,000 have been injured. – It is a hopeless task if you look at the numbers. We must focus on the patients in front of us, and do the best we can. Published 21.07.2024, at 19.37
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Discovery of polio in Gaza, Israel vaccinates its soldiers – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
