Before October 2023, acute flaccid paralysis was “something strange and very rare,” with one or two cases turning up each year, al-Farra said. But in the last three months, according to al-Farra, doctors have seen nearly 100 cases.
Lab samples sent to Jordan and Israel were positive for enterovirus, a group of bugs spread between people or through contaminated water, according to al-Farra. Enteroviruses, which also include poliovirus, are typically spread via the fecal-oral route. He said it was no surprise that one of the hot spots is Khan Younis, where there is raw sewage pooling in the streets.
International condemnation of Israel is growing and, in the strongest remarks from an EU official so far, European Commission Vice President Teresa Ribera told POLITICO’s Brussels Playbook earlier this month that Israel’s conduct in Gaza “looks very much” like genocide — a charge denied by Israel.
A statement from the World Health Organization said there had been 32 cases of acute flaccid paralysis reported among under-15s as of July 31. The surge is partly down to better monitoring, the WHO said, but also reflects the collapse of water and sanitation infrastructure, malnutrition and restricted access to health care.
In almost 70 percent of samples sent for testing, the cause was identified as a non-polio enterovirus, compared to 26 percent in previous years, the WHO said.
Critical clinical assessment, its statement said, “is extremely difficult in Gaza at the moment due to the lack of diagnostic, lab and testing capacities.”