Eradicating Polio Would Eradicate So Much Tragedy

A Pakistani child receives a dose of the oral polio vaccine (OPV). Credit: Ashfaq Yusufzai/IPSBy Matshidiso MoetiBRAZZAVILLE, Mar 22 2022 (IPS) In the outskirts of Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe, just beyond where paved roads transition to dirt, an undiagnosed polio infection paralysed a three-year-old girl. From one day to the next, the child’s life was changed forever. Among Africa’s public health community, we had looked at our successes against wild poliovirus as a cause for optimism. In the 1990s, the disease paralysed more than 75,000 African children every year. But following extensive immunization campaigns coupled with strong surveillance, the wild poliovirus was officially kicked out of sub-Saharan Africa just under two years ago. We went from 300,000 cases in 1985 to zero in 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic struck. In Malawi, there had been no case of wild poliovirus since 1992, and for many, the disease had become a distant memory. The four-month suspension of polio vaccination campaigns in more than 30 countries in 2020, coupled with related disruptions to essential immunization services, led to tens of millions of children missing polio vaccines. Including the three-year old girl in Malawi who is now paralysed for life Polio is a viral infection that causes nerve damage and, in some cases, paralysis that can lead to permanent disability or even death. It is transmitted mostly through contaminated water or food, and its symptoms—fever, sore throat, headac...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Africa Development & Aid Headlines Health Poverty & SDGs TerraViva United Nations Polio Source Type: news