In a statement, Christian Lindmeier, spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (VDPV2) had been identified at six locations in sewage samples collected on 23 June from Khan Younis and Deir al Balah.

To date, no one has been treated in Gaza for paralysis or other symptoms caused by polio virus infection.

“It is important to note the virus has been isolated from the environment only at this time; no associated paralytic cases have been detected,” he told journalists in Geneva. As part of the response efforts, WHO in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is already working with the local health authority, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) and partners to assess how far poliovirus has spread.

This work will determine the measures needed to stop any further spread, “including prompt vaccination campaigns”, the WHO spokesperson explained.