GAZA (WAM)
The Health Ministry on Saturday registered the first case of poliovirus in the southern governorates of the war-torn Gaza Strip.
According to the Palestinian News & Information Agency (WAFA), the case is that of a 10-month-old newborn who has not received any vaccination for polio in the city of Deir al-Balah.
Doctors suspected that the newborn exhibited symptoms identical to those of polio and tests conducted in Amman confirmed that the newborn contracted a strain of vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV).
It confirmed that it would carry out a vital polio vaccination campaign within the coming few days targeting children under 10 years old, noting that 1,200,000 type 2 polio vaccine doses were secured in coordination with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and work is underway to secure 400,000 doses.
United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, called for humanitarian pauses in order to conduct a polio vaccine campaign after the virus was detected in the war-torn Gaza Strip.
Speaking at a press conference in New York, Guterres appealed to all parties to provide concrete assurances right away guaranteeing humanitarian pauses for a polio vaccination campaign, reiterating that “the ultimate vaccine for polio is peace and an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.”
He stressed, “A Polio Pause is a must. It is impossible to conduct a polio vaccination campaign with war raging all over.”