Tel Aviv/Geneva, Feb. 19, (dpa/GNA) – A mass polio vaccination campaign is to resume in the Gaza Strip in the coming days, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Wednesday.

Another vaccination campaign is planned from February 22-26, the WHO wrote on the X social media platform.

The polio virus was discovered in wastewater samples from the Gaza Strip, signalling that the virus is still circulating in the environment and poses a risk to children in the region.

More than 591,000 children under the age of 10 are to be vaccinated.

Although hundreds of thousands of children in Gaza were vaccinated last year, access to some areas was limited due to the fighting between Israel and the Palestinian militant organization Hamas, preventing many from receiving the required second dose, the WHO said.

“The recent ceasefire means health workers have considerably better access now,” it said in a statement. The second round of immunization is due to take place in April.

Polio can cause lifelong paralysis. Last summer, the first case in 25 years was discovered in the Palestinian territory. The virus spreads when unhygienic conditions prevail.

GNA