But living in a former minimart, sharing a toilet with 20 others and washing dishes with dirty seawater, no amount of hand sanitizer could help.
One by one her girls fell sick with what doctors diagnosed as hepatitis A, a viral liver infection that is transmitted through person-to-person contact or contaminated food or water, and can spread quickly in unsanitary conditions.
More than 100,000 people in Gaza have contracted acute jaundice syndrome, or suspected hepatitis A, since the war between Hamas and Israel began on Oct. 7, the World Health Organization said last week.
There are also nearly one million cases of acute respiratory infections, half a million cases of diarrhea and 100,000 cases of lice and scabies, the W.H.O.
On Friday, the agency’s chief, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that even polio, a disease that has been eradicated in much of the world, was present in Gaza.
Persons:
Sally Thabet, Deir al, “ Amoon, ”, Israel, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, poliovirus
Organizations:
World Health Organization
Locations:
Gaza City, Deir, Deir al Balah, Kandi, Gaza