Palestinian health officials say first case of polio confirmed in Gaza, in a 10-month-old child

By The Associated Press on August 16, 2024.

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) – The Palestinian health ministry said it recorded the first case of polio in an unvaccinated 10-month old-child in the Gaza city of Deir al-Balah. It’s the first case in years in the coastal enclave engulfed in the Israel-Hamas war.

After discovering the child’s symptoms, tests were conducted in Jordan’s capital of Amman and the case was confirmed to be polio, said the ministry.

The World Health Organization didn’t immediately respond to requests to confirm the case.

The U.N. health and children’s agencies are calling for seven-day pauses in the war starting at the end of August to vaccinate 640,000 Palestinian children against polio following the discovery of its virus in wastewater in two major cities last month.

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