Gazans are almost certainly facing outbreaks caused by contaminated water (especially given the recent sewage breakdown) — if not dysentery, then cholera, hepatitis A, typhoid or polio.
These diseases do often have positive outlooks given immediate & effective treatment & while treatment is relatively simple (for example, cholera requires hydration (like IV fluids) plus maybe some antibiotics; dysentery typically improves without intervention given adequate hydration) BUT the issue is, Gazans won't have adequate hydration & any hydration they do have is likely to be contaminated.
These are also quick-spreading diseases; the more they reproduce, the more likely they are to mutate which likelihood that a new, untreatable strain emerges. Re-infection is likely, & any immunity developed (like Hepatitis A infections often recover with lifelong immunity) may not protect civilians from a new strain that they no longer have the resources to recover from.
Israelis do have the better end of the deal IF they are able to return to Israel & access clean water (plus any medical care they may need), whereas Gazans have nowhere to go for medical aid & no clean water sources to use as they recover.
Many of these diseases are also disabling if not deadly; to return to polio, it causes paralysis & has no known cure. While Gazans may be vaccinated (& from my understanding, Palestine is polio-free for over 25 years), outbreaks can still occur when water sources are contaminated. For any civilians who survive the virus, they will be facing permanent disability.
Some of these diseases will also not show right away or at all, if their hosts are killed by some other cause first. For example, hepatitis A can take up to 7 weeks after exposure to show symptoms. (I personally suspect that COVID rates are also high, but simply not relevant because upper respiratory infections are a dime a dozen & it doesn't matter if it's a cold or COVID if they can't get treatment for it & they're dying from air strikes or ground invasions or some other atrocity before the symptoms can even be distinguished).
None of this is good. The living conditions in Gaza are criminal — the blockades on aid is beyond unethical. It may be affecting Israel, but it will affect Gazans first & most fundamentally.
Please also remember that incubating these strains so quickly & in such close quarters means that the likelihood of developing a strain that can resist treatment or even cause an epidemic is higher than ever before.
ellievsbear
yousharknotpass
annaxmalina
blakekathryn
stormborns
