WHO: Gaza Respiratory Infections Up 33,000 Cases Year on Year, Nearly 1 Million Displaced People in Flood-Prone Areas
The World Health Organization said at a briefing in Geneva on November 13 that respiratory illnesses are rising in Gaza, with acute respiratory infections running 33,000 cases higher than at the same time last year and now accounting for 11 percent of all consultations in the enclave.
"The worst really is yet to come," said Dr Reinhilde Van De Weerdt, a WHO official speaking by video link from Jerusalem.
She said nearly 1 million displaced people in Gaza are in areas exposed to flooding, 400,000 of them at extremely high risk. Heavy rains in recent days have flooded tens of thousands of tents.
She said overcrowding had worsened since the Israeli military advanced the so-called "yellow line" established under October's US-brokered ceasefire, leaving Gazans with less space and driving up rates of illnesses including respiratory infections.
She said the WHO was having difficulty importing laboratory supplies and called for laboratory equipment to be allowed in "today", ahead of winter.
COGAT, the Israeli military unit that coordinates civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, said last week it had stepped up sanitation efforts before the rain arrived. The Israeli military and COGAT did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the WHO remarks.
Source: World Health Organization
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：日内瓦世界卫生组织总部大楼与世卫组织旗帜。作者：United States Mission Geneva，CC BY 2.0，维基共享资源。 / Photo: The World Health Organization headquarters and flag in Geneva. Credit: United States Mission Geneva, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
