A 10-month-old unvaccinated child was diagnosed with polio in Deir Al Balah, southern Gaza, marking the first case of the virus in the conflict-ridden area, according to Palestinian health officials. Doctors initially suspected the infant showed symptoms similar to polio. Subsequent tests in Amman confirmed the child was infected with a strain of vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV), as stated by the health ministry in a release by the Palestinian News and Information Agency (Wafa). The ministry also announced a polio vaccination campaign targeting children under 10 years old, set to commence in the coming days. Palestine has already secured 1.2 million doses of type 2 polio vaccine in collaboration with UNICEF and is working to acquire an additional 400,000 doses.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged for humanitarian pauses to facilitate a polio vaccination campaign following the detection of the virus in the war-torn Gaza Strip. Speaking at a press conference in New York, Guterres called on all parties to immediately provide concrete assurances of a humanitarian pause, emphasizing 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."
