Overcrowded tents, dirty water fuel chickenpox outbreak in Gaza
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Gaza City: Chickenpox infections are increasing in Gaza's overcrowded refugee camps, with over 9,300 suspected cases reported in early July, according to UNICEF. The outbreak is made worse by crowded living conditions, lack of clean water, and poor hygiene. Families frequently lodge 10 to 20 people in a single tent, making it nearly impossible to isolate affected children despite the disease's high transmission.
Doctors and humanitarian workers say the crisis is part of a larger public health disaster in Gaza, where respiratory illnesses, diarrhoea, fleas, lice, and scabies are also widespread. According to reports, skin problems impact more than half of all homes.
Aid agencies warned that the healthcare sector is on the verge of failure, with medical supplies running low and a growing number of children in need of hospitalisation. They argue that the outbreak cannot be prevented unless the core causes are addressed, which include overcrowding, inadequate water and sanitation, and a lack of safe living spaces for displaced families.
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