Healthcare professionals in the Gaza Strip have warned of the spread of the water pox virus among displaced children in the Gaza Strip, in light of the harsh humanitarian conditions caused by the war of extermination, which the occupation is waving to resume, and the accompanying overcrowding in the shelters. And the almost complete collapse of the health system. The spread of the disease comes at a time when the health environment in the sector suffers from a severe deterioration, as the conditions of mass displacement, weak sanitation services and the lack of clean water have contributed to providing a fertile environment for the transmission of infectious diseases, including waterpox, which has begun to spread widely among families. A report published by Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. A displaced woman named Nermin Muhammad, who lives with her family in the Al-Attar area in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, recounts the details of her family being infected with the virus. She says that her husband, Saed, had flu-like symptoms before it developed into a rash, and then the infection spread to her 8-year-old son, Abdullah, before she later infected three of her children. She adds that her attempts to isolate the injured inside the displacement tent by primitive means did not succeed in stopping the spread of the disease, noting that one of her daughters lost consciousness as a result of complications, while her husband’s condition became complicated with the arrival of the pills to the eye area. Nermin confirms that the infection has become widespread in the region, in light of the weak adherence to preventive measures, the lack of sufficient health awareness, and the continued mixing of the displaced within an environment that lacks the most basic hygiene ingredients.
Vaccination is the most effective means of prevention, along with isolation and reducing contact.
However, according to experts, these measures remain difficult to implement in the current reality of Gaza, where thousands of families live in overcrowded tents amidst a severe shortage of clean water and healthcare services. This makes controlling the spread of infectious diseases an increasing challenge that threatens the lives of the population, especially children.
