Local authorities in Gaza have identified a “new strain” of respiratory virus in Gaza amid worsening conditions of famine and severe malnutrition, which threaten to cause even routine infections to turn deadly.

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/6058319

At Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, Manal Zaqout accompanies her 6-year-old daughter, Aya, for treatment. Aya had been moved to the hospital from the al-Mawasi areas east of Khan Younis after a continuous cough, fever, and fatigue that refused to resolve itself. The child was diagnosed with the flu, but the symptoms were far more severe than regular influenza.

On Sunday, the Gaza Government Media Office said that a “new strain” of the virus is spreading across Gaza amid a severe shortage in medicines due to Israel’s blockade of humanitarian assistance to the Strip.

“The rapid spread is attributed to extreme overcrowding, lack of water and ventilation, and the deterioration of healthcare services due to the war, in addition to restrictions imposed by the occupation,” the Government Media Office said in the statement.

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