The World Health Organisation (WHO) has run out of critical medical supplies in Gaza that it needs to treat a surge in cases of a rare paralysis-causing syndrome in the Palestinian enclave, the UN agency said.
There have been 94 documented cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome in Gaza since June, resulting in 10 deaths, although GBS had rarely been seen in the enclave before the Israel-Hamas war began nearly two years ago, it said.
GBS is a rare condition that involves a person’s immune system attacking the peripheral nerves. Severe cases can result in near-total paralysis and breathing problems, the WHO said.


The fatalities include four children under 15 and six older patients with an average age of 25, the WHO said. Two of the victims had received no treatment, reflecting critical shortages in essential treatment supplies, it added.
Although GBS is usually treatable, the WHO said its treatment efforts were constrained by a lack of certain medical supplies. “Intravenous immune globulin (IVIG), the (Gaza) Ministry of Health’s first-line treatment for GBS, and plasmapheresis filters remain out of stock, leaving no treatment options available for suspected GBS cases,” the WHO said.


Plasmapheresis is the removal, treatment and return or exchange of blood plasma or components thereof from and to the blood circulation, it said.