A 10-month-old child in Deir al-Balah, Gaza has been diagnosed as having polio, according to the UN World Health Organisation (WHO) in a statement released on Friday August 23. This is the first confirmed case to emerge in Gaza in over 25 years. According to the head of WHO, Terdos Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the infant’s lower left leg has been paralysed; however the child is now in a “stable condition”. Initial reports of polio in Gaza surfaced last June, when traces of the virus were detected in wastewater. Now, the UN is calling for a 1-week pause on Israel’s military operations, hoping to vaccinate over 640,000 children. The Polio Virus The polio virus is a highly infectious disease, principally spreading through contact with infected faecal matter or contaminated food and water. It tends to affect children under the age of 10, but can also spread to adults. Polio attacks the nervous system, potentially leading to spinal or respiratory paralysis, which can be fatal. The World Health Assembly initiated a widespread vaccination campaign in 1988 to eliminate the disease. Since 1988, the number of reported cases of polio have been reduced by…
