The presence of the virus that causes polio has been detected in samples of wastewater in the Gaza Strip, the Gaza Health Ministry said, explaining that “the tests were conducted in coordination with UNICEF” and that the poliovirus was detected “in sewage flowing between the tents of displaced people” in refugee camps, “and in places where residents are located following the destruction of infrastructure.”
This, it says, “represents a new health disaster”, “there is heavy overcrowding, a shortage of available water, contamination with waste water, accumulation of tons of waste”. All this, and the refusal to allow hygiene supplies into Gaza, creates “an environment suitable for the spread of various epidemics”, is the alarm raised, an SOS bounced on the international media. The detection of the polio virus in waste water, concludes the local ministry, “exposes thousands of residents to the risk of contracting the disease”.
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