Mysterious viruses, rare diseases, Gaza faces unknown ghosts

On August 28, Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex, spoke out to raise awareness about the return of rare viruses to Gaza. Due to the ongoing war, malnutrition, and ongoing displacement, these diseases are beyond the control of doctors, both due to the lack of medical equipment to detect them and conduct tests to treat them, and due to the shortage of medicines. The environment in the Gaza Strip has become ripe for the return of rare diseases, increasing the burden on Palestinians who face daily Israeli missiles.

The director of Al-Shifa Hospital said, “We warn of a new virus spreading inside Gaza, and we do not have tests to determine the cause of the virus.” This was the distress message Abu Salmiya sent to the international community to intervene quickly and save the Strip. He explained that the symptoms of the virus include a high body temperature, joint pain, a runny nose, and a cough accompanied by bouts of diarrhea lasting more than a week.

He pointed out that the spread of the virus is caused by a lack of immunity resulting from malnutrition, in addition to the lack of clean water and cleaning supplies, and the overcrowding of people in tents. He also pointed out that the new virus is exacerbating the pressure on the exhausted health system.
Rare diseases have begun to appear on a widespread scale, and others have returned after being absent from Gaza for years, brought back by the Israeli war. These diseases include Guillain-Barré virus, which attacks the immune system due to water contamination; chickenpox, due to overcrowding and a lack of vaccines and cleaning supplies; systemic scleroderma; and the reemergence of polio due to the deterioration of the health and environmental systems. There are warnings of the return of a flu-like virus, although there is no known name for it yet.