Gaza's polio outbreak will not spare Israelis: Foreign Policy
6 Min Read
A Foreign Policy piece addresses the effect of the poliovirus on Israelis, while discussing the destruction of Gaza's health system that resulted in the outbreak of the disease, proposing solutions that are generally applicable under ideal conditions.
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Palestinian boy Abdel Rahman Abu al-Jedian who contracted polio a month ago, sleeps surrounded by family members in their displacement tent in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on August 27, 2024. (AFP)
At the beginning of August, Gaza's Health Ministry declared a polio virus epidemic along the Strip, linked with "Israel's" ongoing genocide. Essentially, the spread of the disease is more susceptible due to the destruction of healthcare and public health infrastructure by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF).
In a recent analysis report, Foreign Policy stated that the poliovirus outbreak will not only affect Gazans but will also extend to infecting hundreds of thousands of Israelis.
The polio virus is a life-threatening disease characterized by the paralysis of limbs and, in some cases, lungs. Polio is an incurable, contagious disease that enables a single individual to infect several hundreds of others simultaneously through silent transmission.
Although the disease has dissipated in developed countries, it poses a risk for the Israeli regime due to its ultra-Orthodox, or Haredim, population that is generally opposed to vaccinations, leaving around 175,000 children vulnerable to the illness.
The Haredim make up 17% of Israeli Jews and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs their support to maintain his power. Essentially, his government has exempted the group from immunization programs against various vaccine-preventable ailments and viruses, including polio, COVID-19, and influenza, despite their threat to domestic and global health.
Vaccination exemptions and Netanyahu's refusal to implement a permanent ceasefire to end the occupation's ongoing aggression in Gaza have put "Israel" at risk of contracting polio.
Issues with the three-day humanitarian pause, vaccination campaigns
The Israeli occupation (IOF) and Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas have agreed to three separate, localized three-day ceasefires in the Gaza Strip to enable the immunization of around 640,000 children against polio, WHO official Rik Peeperkorn announced on Thursday.
Despite the temporary halt on Israeli aggression to carry out vaccination campaigns, Foreign Policy stated that it is unlikely parents would risk bringing their children to the designated vaccination sites while the occupation continues to carry out its genocide in other areas in Gaza. Additionally, the aggression prevents healthcare workers in Gaza's displaced population from obtaining the necessary vaccinations to combat the outbreak.
Shortly after the detection of the poliovirus in Gaza's sewers, the Israeli government launched a vaccination campaign for IOF soldiers returning from the Strip. However, despite these optional shots protecting some soldiers from contracting the virus, this did not prevent them from spreading the disease in "Israel," turning them into carriers of the deadly, contagious disease.
Foreign Policy speculated that a potential polio outbreak in "Israel" may provide Netanyahu with a strong incentive to establish prolonged humanitarian pauses to carry out mass vaccination initiatives that may lead to a permanent ceasefire.
Destruction of Gaza's healthcare system and lack of sanitation
The ongoing ten-month Israeli aggression on Gaza has destroyed the small land's water sources and sanitation systems, resulting in the forced displacement of 2 million Palestinians to seek refuge in crowded camps.
The occupation has destroyed over 1,000 medical facilities, equipment, and staff, as well as killing or arresting more than 800 healthcare workers since October 7. Additionally, the Israeli regime has withheld humanitarian aid from reaching Gazans, hindering access to essential nutrition, pivotal medication, and lifesaving public health technology.
Foreign Policy denounced the international community's actions concerning Gaza after a 10-month-old infant was left partially paralyzed after contracting the poliovirus since Palestinian children are more likely to be killed by daily Israeli bombardment as opposed to a virus that has not been detected in Gaza since 1985.
Despite Gaza's deteriorated healthcare system, lack of safe drinking water, and inadequate sanitation, 99% of the population was vaccinated against the disease in 2022. However, following the start of "Israel's" genocidal assault, the polio immunization rate dropped to 86%, which is below the required level for mass immunity.
Herd immunity was previously achieved through the administration of intramuscular polio vaccine alongside oral polio vaccines, preventing the transmission of the virus and ensuring the protection of the general population. This ultimately protected Gaza's immunosuppressed and partially immunized infants from contracting the virus.
The combination of the squalid living conditions, starvation, destruction of health care facilities, and unsafe drinking water has essentially made routine vaccinations impossible, creating the ideal environment of a virulent stealth virus.
The buildup of waste, stagnant sewage, and insect infestations has made the health conditions in the Gaza Strip unbearable, with many fearing the onset of epidemics as another facet of suffering to be added to the already dire humanitarian crisis amid the ongoing Israeli genocide.
In a related development, satellite images analyzed by BBC Arabic reveal what seems to be a significant sewage spill off the coast of Deir al-Balah.
The waters, along sections of Gaza’s Mediterranean coastline, have begun to turn brown, as health experts warn of the spread of open sewage and disease throughout the territory.
A UN environmental report concluded in June that intense Israeli bombardment has resulted in the collapse of Gaza’s wastewater management infrastructure, as well as the regime's withholding of chlorine to disinfect the contaminated water which is essential for combatting polio.
An ideal yet unrealistic solution
An ideal mass vaccination campaign is a viable solution to stop the spread of the polio virus.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has pledged 1.6 million vaccine doses in Gaza, some of which have already arrived. However, in order to ensure mass vaccination, aid organizations must find an approach to hold campaigns during an ongoing genocide.
According to Foreign Policy, the most successful polio vaccination campaigns are dependent on door-to-door visits. However, this system would be ineffective due to the destruction of more than 80% of buildings in Gaza.
Essentially, prolonged humanitarian pauses allowing vaccination campaigns could contain the transmission of the virus in Gaza and over 100,000 unvaccinated and under-vaccinated settlers.
