The said it would send 1 million vaccines to Gaza after the nearly-eradicated disease was detected in sewage in two Gaza governates.
Although no clinical cases have yet been logged, authorities in Gaza declared an epidemic last month, blaming Israel’s ongoing military offensive.
The WHO said arranging a cease-fire was crucial to enable it to better distribute and administer the vaccines, and to seek human cases explaining the apparent presence of the viral disease in sewage.
“We need a cease-fire, even a temporary cease-fire, to successfully undertake these campaigns,” said Hanan Balkhy, regional WHO director. “Otherwise, we risk the virus spreading further, including across borders.”
Young children who may not have been vaccinated are most at risk from the disease, which is mainly spread through the fecal-oral route.
Problems with overcrowding, overflowing sewage and contaminated water have already led to far higher than usual rates of diarrhea complaints, more than 100,000 cases of scabies and lice and some 70,000 cases of skin rashes in Gaza since fighting began last October.
Polio, which invades the nervous system and can cause paralysis, has almost been eradicated globally. Caseloads are down roughly 99% worldwide since 1988 thanks to mass vaccination campaigns, improving standards of living in the developing world and a bid to eradicate the disease entirely. This bid , however, amid skepticism and conspiracy theories about vaccines.
Health experts have warned that conditions in Gaza, especially with the interruption to vaccination drives for the large number of young children, could help polio to start to spread again.
msh/wd (Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa)
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