Gaza health crisis: Autoimmune diseases spread amid Israeli siege and shortages

Al Jazeera English

Gaza's healthcare system, already struggling under the weight of conflict, now faces a new challenge: a surge in cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS). This rare neurological disorder, which turns the body's immune system against its own nerves, is leaving patients paralysed and fighting for their lives. Doctors report an alarming increase in cases, particularly among young people, attributing the rise to widespread pollution, poor sanitation, and malnutrition resulting from the ongoing war. With no stock of the life-saving IVIG treatment available in Gaza, patients and their families face a grim reality as the silent epidemic spreads.  Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud reports from Gaza City. Doctor Nour Sharaf is an emergency doctor who was in Gaza a month ago and saw cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome during her time working at Al Shifa Hospital. She spoke to us earlier about the causes of the disease and why it's spreading.  Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/AJSubscribe Follow us on X: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera Check our website: http://www.aljazeera.com/ Check out our Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/ Download AJE Mobile App: https://aje.io/AJEMobile  #Palestine #Israel #Gaza #GazaWar #GazaHealthCrisis #GazaGenocide #GBS #GuillainBarreSyndrome #GazaHumanitarianCrisis #GazaSiege #AutoimmuneDiseases #GazaHealthEmergency #GazaHospitals  # news #breaking #24x7

Transcript

00:00In Gaza's collapsing health system, a silent disease is taking hold.

00:05Guillain-Barre syndrome, or GPS.

00:08It turns the body's immune system against the nerves,

00:11leaving patients weak, paralyzed, and often unable to breathe.

00:16For Oda Masoud, life has become a struggle.

00:19His wife's body has shut down, leaving her trapped and voiceless.

00:23I carry my wife and take her to the bathroom.

00:26My wife does not walk.

00:28She is sick, and if the disease spreads further through her body,

00:31it can reach her lungs, and this disease can kill her.

00:36Doctors say they are seeing more cases among young people,

00:40conditions that could be treated anywhere else in the world.

00:44Both the WHO and the Gaza Ministry of Health confirm a growing number of cases here.

00:49The first cause is pollution due to bad sanitation in Gaza,

00:54due to destruction of the sanitation system from the occupational forces during this war.

01:01This is the first.

01:02Second, due to malnutrition, there is hypovitaminosis,

01:07lack of vitamin B1 and B6 and B12.

01:11For many, paralysis begins in the legs, then the arms,

01:15and can reach the chest, making it hard to breathe.

01:17For 25-year-old Mohamed al-Masri, it started with a stomach pain and diarrhea,

01:23before he suddenly lost the ability to walk.

01:25I had stomach pain, then my legs stopped moving.

01:30They told me I have GBS, but there is no treatment.

01:34I'm scared I will die.

01:36Without a treatment, patients can become fully paralyzed.

01:40The WHO confirms Gaza has no stock of the IVIG treatment,

01:45the only medicine that could save lives.

01:47Already three patients, including two children, have died.

01:52Every day, something stopped working.

01:54First, my legs, then the hands.

01:57Even breathing became difficult.

01:58As the bombs fall outside, an invisible battle is stealing Gaza young from within.

02:05Gallen-Burn syndrome is a disease that should not kill,

02:08is now leaving its victims powerless, paralyzed,

02:12and abandoned by a healthcare system and ruins.

02:16Hani Mahmoud al-Jazeera from Gaza City, Palestine.

02:21Right, to understand more about this disease,

02:24let's speak to Dr. Noor Sharaf,

02:25an emergency doctor who was in Gaza a month ago

02:28and saw cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome

02:30during her time working at Al Shaffer Hospital.

02:33Thank you for joining us.

02:34You're joining us now from Dallas in Texas.

02:37Dr. Noor, anyone with an autoimmune disease

02:40can attest to how life-changing it can be,

02:44but this one specifically sounds absolutely horrific and terrifying.

02:49There's no cure, I understand correctly.

02:51Can you explain to us, for someone who's not a doctor,

02:54to understand exactly what is it

02:56and how can malnutrition or famine lead to it exactly?

03:02Yeah, absolutely.

03:03Thank you for having me.

03:05So, like you mentioned, Guillain-Barre is an autoimmune condition,

03:10which that means that the body starts to attack itself.

03:15Specifically, the body attacks the nerves that affect the muscles of the body,

03:21and that can be very dangerous

03:23because it can lead those muscles to stop working.

03:27Guillain-Barre itself is just kind of this big category

03:31in which multiple other variations of the disease present,

03:35but the most common way that it will present is with weakness in the legs

03:41that will move up towards the body.

03:46And essentially, the most dangerous thing about Guillain-Barre

03:48is that it can affect the muscles that the body uses to breathe.

03:52And, you know, obviously, that can lead to death

03:57from people not breathing appropriately.

04:01And it can be caused by many things,

04:04but the most common cause for Guillain-Barre

04:07is consumption of contaminated food.

04:11Typically, it follows a period in which a patient

04:14will have eaten something that causes a diarrheal illness,

04:18and then one to two weeks later,

04:22they will develop the weakness in their legs

04:24that, again, goes up into their respiratory system as well

04:30and can stop them from breathing.

04:34There are two treatments available for Guillain-Barre

04:38that are used, IVIG and plasmapheresis,

04:42both which are not available right now in Gaza

04:46and are very difficult to obtain in general from anywhere

04:50in order to be able to even send them to Gaza.

04:53So it is something that requires international attention.

04:56I mean, it sounds absolutely horrific, Dr. Noor.

04:59And, of course, this just highlights

05:01the devastating causes of this man-made malnutrition and famine

05:06because it's not just Guillain-Barre, is it?

05:08There's been several outbreaks of infectious diseases in Gaza

05:12because of lack of water, sanitation, hygiene.

05:15Jean, during your time there, what are the cases,

05:19what are the sorts of cases that you were coming across?

05:23Yeah, absolutely.

05:24I think we need to remember that people in Gaza

05:26are currently living in very close quarters,

05:29and that was secondary for fourth displacement.

05:33So we have seen people get sick

05:36from just simply just being in very small areas near each other.

05:40So a lot of patients would come in with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea.

05:45They're eating food that's contaminated.

05:47They don't have any type of refrigeration for the food

05:50that they're able to even cook at home.

05:53So that can lead to very high levels of contamination

05:56of the food that they're eating

05:57and result in these diarrheal or GI illnesses.

06:02We saw a lot of people with non-healing wounds.

06:05So a lot of the trauma patients that would come in with gunshots

06:09or burns or even shrapnel related from bomb injuries

06:13are not healing from the wounds that they develop

06:16because they don't have the proper nutrition in their body

06:19in order for their body to support the healing.

06:21It's a multifactorial process that, you know,

06:25all stems from lack of resources,

06:28whether that's lack of medication,

06:30whether that's lack of food

06:31or proper sanitary water for patients to drink,

06:34all of that is coming together

06:36and causing a huge deterioration

06:38in the health of the population of Gaza.

06:41And it's important to highlight

06:43that this wouldn't be happening, of course,

06:44if Israel wasn't carrying out this war

06:47with this blockade that it's imposed on Gaza,

06:49not just during the war, but before that.

06:51And when I talk about blockade,

06:52it's not just food or medicine

06:55because many of the doctors like yourself

06:58have been trying to go back

07:00and they're reporting now

07:01that they're being barred from entry.

07:04And certainly some of those

07:05that have been able to go in,

07:07sometimes they try and take baby formula

07:08just as a simple example,

07:10and that's being confiscated.

07:11Can you talk to us about the process

07:12of trying to get in to Gaza

07:14with Israel controlling all of those borders?

07:19Correct.

07:20The blockade of everything,

07:21the ability to enter pretty much anything

07:24into Gaza is truly devastating.

07:26People are being blocked from food,

07:30so it's forcing them to go

07:31to these aid distribution sites

07:33where they're being attacked.

07:34They're being blocked from access to clean water.

07:37And we as healthcare workers

07:40are being blocked entry into Gaza.

07:44So the process of going is a multi-step process.

07:47Once you apply through

07:49the World Health Organization,

07:51you are then approved to apply through COGAT,

07:55which is the Israeli side of the operation

07:58that has the final say

08:00as to whether or not

08:02any type of healthcare worker

08:04is able to enter into Gaza.

08:06Right now, the only types of healthcare workers

08:08that are even allowed to submit an application

08:11are physicians and nurses.

08:13So no respiratory therapists,

08:15no physical therapists,

08:17no nutritionists,

08:17and those are much needed individuals

08:19in this situation.

08:22Even physicians and nurses

08:24are being denied entry

08:27up to 24 hours before our trip.

08:30The only entry point right now

08:32in Gaza is through Amen Jordan.

08:34And once we arrive in Amen Jordan,

08:36we get the final approval

08:39to enter in Gaza about 24 hours before our trip.

08:42And, you know, that it is very devastating

08:47to see that as humanitarian,

08:50politically unaffiliated healthcare workers,

08:52we aren't able to go in

08:54and help the people who need it the most.

08:56And even myself, I was not denied entry,

08:59but I was denied the ability

09:00to bring in any type of medical supplies

09:03or any type of additional resources

09:06that would be able to help the patients there,

09:08which includes things like much needed medications.

09:11We talked about IVIG

09:12and how it's not available in Gaza,

09:14which includes things like resources.

09:17We were having to,

09:18while I was working at the hospital there,

09:20we were having to use items

09:24that were not necessarily indicated

09:25to be used in the situation

09:27that we were using them for,

09:29but we had no other choice.

09:32Right. Thank you.

09:32And I wasn't allowed to bring in tools.

09:35Dr. Noor Sharf,

09:36thank you very much

09:37for sharing your experience as a doctor

09:40and what you've had to face there in Gaza,

09:42an emergency doctor.

09:43You were in Gaza a month ago.

09:47Don't miss out,

09:49get the full picture.

09:50Subscribe to Al Xero for reliable news

09:53and expert insights.

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