DAWN.COM

Today's Paper | May 13, 2026

Published 17 Aug, 2024 02:09pm

Gaza bracing for ‘worst-case scenario’ after polio case confirmed

Relief workers are preparing for a potential outbreak of polio in Gaza, where the first case has been confirmed in 25 years and wastewater has been found with traces of the virus, Al Jazeera reports.

“We are anticipating and preparing for the worst-case scenario of a polio outbreak in the coming weeks or month,” Francis Hughes, CARE International’s Gaza response director, told the AP news agency.

“We are not optimistic because we know that doctors could also be missing the warning signs,” he said.

As we’ve been reporting, UN agencies are urging for a seven-day truce at the end of this month to carry out a mass vaccine drive in the enclave. Without such a truce, the campaign will not be successful, they say.

Read Comments

US widens drive to revoke citizenship of foreign-born Americans Next Story