JERUSALEM, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Evidence of poliovirus type 2 (VDPV2) in sewage samples taken from the Gaza Strip was found in tests carried out in Israel, the Israeli Ministry of Health said in a statement on Thursday.
The statement added that the samples, tested in an Israeli laboratory approved by the World Health Organization, raised concerns about the virus's presence in this area.
The ministry noted that according to the samples, there is probably a significant scope of morbidity in Gaza, "but we do not have any data on clinical morbidity there."
The ministry also recommended the Israeli army's Medical Corps to vaccinate with the booster shot all soldiers who are in the Gaza Strip or are going to enter it amid the ongoing conflict.
Polio, or poliomyelitis, is an infectious disease caused by a virus that belongs to a family of intestinal viruses. The virus is transmitted between humans through contact with bodily excretions and replicates in the gastrointestinal tract of the infected individual.
Most cases are asymptomatic, but 10-20 percent of infections present with general symptoms such as fever, headaches, stomach aches, nausea, vomiting, and sore throat. In rare instances, there may be signs of meningitis and limb paralysis.
