A 10-month-old baby has been partially paralysed after contracting polio in Gaza, United Nations officials have said
Baby contracts Gaza’s first case of polio in 25 years
19 hours ago
Yolande Knell
Middle East Correspondent
Reporting fromJerusalem
Lucy Clarke-Billings
BBC News
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REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
A 10 year old Palestinian girl has been examined by a doctor amid fears over the spread of polio in Gaza. First case was reported by the enclave’s Ministry of Health, as the war between Israel and Hamas intensifies, at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
According to the UN, Gaza has not registered a polio case for 25 years, despite being in war for 11 months now. Type 2 poliovirus was detected in samples collected from the territory’s wastewater in June. World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said he is “gravely concerned” and confirmed that efforts are under way to roll out a vaccination programme in the coming weeks.
