Baghdad, The United Nations announced today, Saturday, that it had detected an outbreak of hepatitis C among displaced Palestinians inside shelter centers in the Gaza Strip.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) explained that an outbreak of hepatitis C was detected in the shelter centers of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
The office added in a statement that the United Nations provided about 10,000 medical consultations daily in all centers that receive displaced people, while 12,000 children have been vaccinated in UNRWA shelters since the fourth of last month.
The office explained that residents of Gaza City and its north are still suffering with regard to drinking water and hygiene, as most of the main water production facilities remain suspended due to fuel shortages and some also due to damage.
Small private wells and UNRWA wells come first, amid severe concerns about water-borne diseases due to water consumption from unsafe sources.
The World Health Organization pointed out the need to provide protection for civilians in Gaza, in addition to food, clean water, shelter, sanitation, and medicine, stressing the danger of overcrowding resulting from the mass displacement of the population and unsafe living conditions for the spread of diseases.
Four hospitals in Gaza City and its north operate partially and receive patients, with limited services, and two other hospitals provide dialysis services to kidney patients only.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency