According to the World Health Organization, polio is a dangerous disease that spreads quickly. This has been defined as a viral disease all over the world. It is the child who is most affected. The virus for this disease is transmitted from person to person through dirty water and food. After that, it affects the nervous system. For your information, let us tell you that there is no cure for polio. If you want to avoid this, you need to take immunity-boosting medications.
World Health Assembly (WHA) in 1988
The “World Health Assembly” (WHA) launched a special program in 1988 to free the world from polio. In 1995, India launched a special Polio Plus program to eradicate polio. In this context, a pulse polio medication is administered to the small child for 5 years. The last case of polio in India was reported in January 2011. After that, in February 2012, India was removed from the list of countries affected by the polio virus.
In 2014, WHO declared India a polio-free country.
24 lakh workers were associated with this scheme. With 1.5 lakh employees and a budget of Rs 1,000 crore every year, the polio eradication program was carried out 6-8 times a year. In each program, approximately 17 million children received medication. This hard work by India paid off and in 2014, WHO declared India a polio-free country.
If people from these countries come to India, they will need polio medicines and vaccines.
The government took significant steps in 2014 to stop the spread of the polio virus in the country. Especially if people from these countries come to India, it is very important that they get vaccinated and take anti-polio medicines. This list includes countries like Afghanistan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Syria and Cameroon.
Polio is a serious disease that spreads very quickly. In this case, the person may suffer permanent disability and, in severe cases, death. Especially children under 5 years old. There are two types of polio virus in the world. The first is the wild polio virus and the second is the oral polio vaccine. The wild polio virus has been completely eradicated in most countries except Pakistan and Afghanistan. It has been found in Yemen and central Africa.
These particular symptoms appear in the body because of polio
According to the WHO, 70 to 95 percent of people infected with poliovirus show no specific symptoms. Early symptoms may include fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, neck stiffness, and pain in the hands and legs. One in 200 infected people may develop paralysis (usually in the legs). If paralyzed people have difficulty breathing, the risk of death is 5 to 10%. Polio particularly affects children over 5 years old.
This is the situation of polio in the world
Wild poliovirus cases have declined by more than 99% since 1988. There have been 6 cases reported in 2021 out of an estimated 3 lakh 50,000 cases in over 125 endemic countries. Among the 3 types of wild poliovirus (type 1, type 2 and type 3), wild poliovirus type 2 was completely eradicated in 1999 and wild poliovirus type 3 in 2020.
In 2024, two new cases of WPV1 were reported in Pakistan. Both cases were discovered in Balochistan province (Chaman and Dera Bugti districts). There are 125 positive samples in 2023 and 34 positive samples so far in 2024.
Disclaimer: Some of the information given in news stories is based on media reports. Before implementing any suggestion, you should consult the relevant expert.
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