A War Zone and its Increasing Infectious Disease Toll
With the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, The World Health Organization reported a public health update. Officials are concerned about what is happening inside the Gaza Strip particularly around a variety of diseases and health conditions including hepatitis A, skin infections, and even polio.
WHO plans to send 1.2 million polio vaccines to the Gaza Strip to address concerns around the infectious disease.
Image credit: WHO
Several months into the conflict between Israel and the terrorist group, Hamas, there has been thousands of casualties and health issues inflicted on the local Gaza Strip population. In the latter part of July, an Emergency Situation Update about the Gaza Strip was released by the World Health Organization. In the update, information captured a variety of statistics including, fatalities (39,090), injuries (90,147), and over 10,000 people reported missing under the rubble.1 Additionally, there was information provided around communicable diseases and conditions being seen there. The statistics start on October 7, 2023 and run through June 30, 2024. It is important to note, WHO says its update should be interpreted with caution because the data may be delayed and there might be incomplete reporting.
Skin Rashes.
According to the update, there have been 65,368 cases of skin rashes and 103,385 cases of scabies and lice.1
Respiratory Infections.
The update reports there have been 973,253 acute respiratory infections.1
Hepatitis A.
According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency’s (UNRWA) health program, 800 to 1000 new hepatitis A cases are reported weekly in Gaza. UNRWA says cases of hepatitis A increased from only 85 cases reported before the war to nearly 40,000 cases reported since the war started.2
Statistics around communicable diseases in the Gaza Strip.
Image credit: WHO
Polio.
Polio was detected in Gaza in wastewater samples. Specifically, on July 16 the Global Polio Laboratory Network (GPLN) notified the detection of 6 circulating variant poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) isolates in environmental samples from Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis in Gaza.1
The WHO update says the virus has been isolated from the environment only at this time; no associated paralytic cases have been detected. However, the WHO considers there to be a high risk of spread of this strain within Gaza, and internationally, particularly given the impact the current situation continues to have on public health services.1
With these findings, the WHO is planning to send more than 1.2 million polio vaccines to Gaza. The organization’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, said in his weekly remarks that they plan 2 rounds of vaccination, targeting 600,000 children under the age of eight. The first round of vaccinations are due to start on August 17.3
Water Sanitation Challenges and Hospital/Care Facility Shortages
In an already dire situation, there are shortages in hospitals and other medical facilities. The WHO update reports that 16 of 36 (44%) hospitals are partially functional and that 48 of 107 (45%) primary care facilities are functional.1
Additionally, clean water shortages are exacerbating the situation. “We’ve already seen Israel’s use of collective punishment and its use of starvation as a weapon of war. Now we are witnessing its weaponizing of water, which is already having deadly consequences,” said Oxfam Water and Sanitation Specialist Lama Abdul Samad.4
For context of the size and amount of people being affected by the crisis, the Gaza strip has an estimated 2 million Palestinians living there, according to the US State Department.5 And it is approximately 25 miles long, 3.7 to 7.5 miles wide, and 141 square miles.6
