Africa is about to be declared polio-free

There is no cure for polio. The virus, which is transmitted from person to person, attacks the brain and spinal cord by folding the limbs of the children in horrible contortions resembling spiders. He killed or maimed millions of people, rich or poor (President Franklin D. Roosevelt contracted the disease). Fortunately, there is good news. Today, three years have passed since Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, reported a case of the virus. In 2012, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the country accounted for more than half of all polio cases worldwide. He is now on the verge of eliminating the disease. By 2020, the entire African continent could be declared polio-free.

This milestone was long in coming. Polio was once endemic in more than 125 countries, crippling 350,000 children each year. But in 1988, WHO launched an effort to eradicate the disease by massively vaccinating children. The virus was first eliminated from the rich world: America was declared polio-free in 1979 and Europe in 2002. The developing world has proved more difficult. Over the decades, tens of thousands of health workers have traveled through dangerous and remote areas of the world to vaccinate nearly 3 billion children. As a result, over the past 30 years, the incidence of polio has decreased by more than 99%. In 2018, there were only 33 cases of the disease.

Nigeria has managed to eradicate polio after an extensive vaccination program for nomads and remote villages. WHO is expected to make an official statement in October. But officials advise caution. Only one infected child can trigger another outbreak. In fact, Nigeria was declared polio-free in 2015 before suffering an epidemic the following year. According to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, polio is occurring in remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan, where the total number of cases recorded this year is 53 and 14 respectively. Syria has been affected by an epidemic in 2013 and again in 2017. Wars and other violence make it difficult for all communities to be inoculated. But the victory in the fight against poliomyelitis is very close.