A Dramatic Elevation of Neural Tube Defects in the Gaza Strip, Palestine

Abstract: The incidence of neural tube defects (NTDs) was monitored between January 2006 and April 2010. During the study period 218,395 deliveries occurred, among which 108 were having neural tube defects (4.99 per 10,000), 42 (1.9 per 10,000) of the malformed babies had spina bifida, 7 (0. 32 per 10,000) had encephalocele, 13 (0.59 per 10,000) had anenceph­aly, and 30 (1.37 per 10,000) had meningocele / meningomyelocele. In 16 of the 108 cases, there were also other NTDs malformations. The incidence of neural tube defects prior to 2009 was 3.3 per 10.000 whilst the NTD rate increased in 2009 to April 2010 to a level of 8.8 per 10,000. The difference was statistically significant. This remarkable change in incidence suggests that this finding may be associated with the different banned weapons which were used against Gaza in 2008.