A ceasefire is the only way to protect babies in Gaza and Israel from a polio epidemic, Israeli public health professors have said, Al Jazeera reports.

“The response to the threat of the highly infectious polio virus, recently detected in sewage in Gaza, must be coordinated and comprehensive,” the eight experts said in an article published by Israel’s Haaretz newspaper.

“As Israeli public health professors, we call for a ceasefire to stop it spreading,” they said.

On Friday, World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Ghebreyesus said a ceasefire was “essential” to effectively respond after type-2 poliovirus was found in several wastewater samples taken in southern Gaza.

On Sunday, the Israeli army said it has started “a broad vaccination operation for all ground troops” in Gaza.

The highly contagious virus is caught by drinking contaminated water or through oral contact. It can cause paralysis and in extreme cases, death.