Medical Officials Report Virus-Related Deaths In Gaza

GAZA, Jan 19 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- Medical officials in the Gaza Strip said on Monday that health authorities are recording daily deaths among residents due to a virus spreading in the coastal enclave, home to more than two million people, reported Xinhua.

Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City, told the official Voice of Palestine radio station that "the virus, which has been spreading in the enclave since the beginning of winter, has caused daily deaths, not only among the elderly and those with chronic illnesses, but also among pregnant women and children".

Abu Salmiya did not specify the number of deaths or the nature of the virus, but he mentioned the deaths of a doctor and an 18-year-old girl a few days ago due to complications from the infection.

Salmiya explained that the viral infection is accompanied by severe symptoms, including high fever, intense joint pain, and headaches, which can lead to severe pneumonia and, in some cases, death.

"Regardless of whether it is a mutated strain of coronavirus or seasonal influenza, the problem is that we do not have the laboratory tests to identify it."

He said the virus "poses a real threat to people's lives", noting that the incubation period has extended to about two weeks instead of the usual one.

“Medical teams working in the Gaza Strip are observing a steady increase in such cases in hospital emergency departments, further burdening the already strained and dilapidated healthcare system,” he said.

"The deterioration of the population's overall immunity, resulting from the famine that has struck the enclave and living in dilapidated tents that offer no protection from the cold and winter, has exacerbated the already dire situation," the director added.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Abdel Moneim, a pulmonologist in the Gaza Strip, said that the virus is "not new, but it is more virulent than before, and the most common symptoms are high fever, shortness of breath, severe cough, and sore throat".

In a press statement, Abdel Moneim explained that medical teams can identify a person infected with the virus through X-rays showing severe lung inflammation, which can lead to death.

He added that residents are living in overcrowded conditions in displacement camps, and personal protective measures such as wearing masks, maintaining hygiene, and sanitising are unavailable.  

-- BERNAMA-XINHUA