By SCM Online Reporter
A DEADLY wave of cerebrospinal meningitis is sweeping through the ruins of Gaza, preying on thousands of children left skeletal by famine.
Health chiefs at the Nasser Medical Complex have sounded the alarm after detecting nine new cases of the brain-swelling infection since the start of the month alone.
Doctors warn that the disease—which can kill in hours—is finding “easy targets” in families who have been forced to live on the brink of starvation for months.
The Director General of the Pediatric Hospital at Nasser told Al Jazeera that the outbreak is a direct result of the “harsh conditions” facing 1.3 million people trapped in the Gaza Strip.
”Most of the detected meningitis cases come from families suffering from malnutrition,” the hospital chief revealed.
He explained that the combination of weakened immunity and poor nutrition has left children’s bodies unable to fight off the bacteria.
For these youngsters, a common infection becomes a death sentence because they simply lack the physical strength to recover.
Even for those who spot the symptoms—which include high fever, stiff necks, and agonizing headaches—getting help is a lethal gamble.
With infrastructure in tatters, families are “struggling to reach hospitals” to receive life-saving antibiotics. Many are forced to travel miles on foot or via donkey cart through dangerous territory just to reach a doctor.
A Health System on its Knees
The outbreak in Gaza is the latest blow to a region where basic sanitation has collapsed.
1.3 Million Displaced: The majority of the population is living in overcrowded tents or ruins with little to no clean water.
UN agencies have previously warned that famine is “imminent,” with children particularly vulnerable to “wasting”—the most life-threatening form of malnutrition.
Medical Shortages: Hospitals like Nasser are operating with dwindling supplies of vaccines and medicine, making the containment of highly contagious diseases like meningitis nearly impossible.
