After 25 years, Gaza Strip has a new case of Polio

Health authorities made a new discovery in July, when poliovirus was found in sewage samples in the Gaza Strip. Now, in August, an 11-month-old baby contracted the disease and has one of his legs paralyzed, the first case in Palestinian territory in 25 years. International agencies are sending about 1.6 million doses of oral vaccine to contain the disease. The area has 640,000 children under the age of 10 who will need to be immunized.

The goal is to eradicate once again

The main focus, in addition to immunizing children in the region, is to prevent polio from spreading worldwide. About 30 years ago, the World Health Assembly had already reduced the disease by 99% through vaccination campaigns around the world. Wild poliovirus is present in two strongholds: Pakistan and Afghanistan, but the disease found in Gaza probably came from Egypt, since the country has been sending aid trucks to the enclave. According to experts, it is still possible that the disease will leave Gaza while the virus is circulating and that there will be cases outside the region.

According to Oliver Rosenbauer, spokesman for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, as long as the disease exists, all countries will be at risk. He adds that it will be necessary to eradicate wild polio from these places and gradually remove the live virus component from oral vaccines in order to eliminate the disease once and for all.

_{Illustrative image of vaccine (Photo: reproduction/Pexels)}

Live virus causes concern

Even though two of the three types have been eliminated, there is still one that causes outbreaks: vaccine-derived poliovirus. This live but weakened form of the virus is used in oral vaccines in poor countries. Designed to induce an immune response without causing severe symptoms, it is responsible for recent outbreaks in these countries.

A child immunized with the oral vaccine can shed the weakened virus in feces or body secretions. When vaccination rates in a population are inadequate, the vaccine-derived poliovirus can spread unabated, undergoing genetic changes and eventually reverting to a type capable of causing paralysis and outbreaks. Higher-income countries have been using the injectable vaccine that does not contain the live virus since the 2000s.

Featured Photo: illustrative image of a child at a medical appointment (Reproduction/Pexels)