[ad_1]
Geneva – Two cases of polio have been reported in the Central African Republic (CAR), the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Tuesday in the latest setback of global efforts to eradicate this debilitating disease.
The cases, reported to the WHO on May 24, were due to "vaccine-origin poliomyelitis" rather than to the wild type of the virus that still circulates in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
"The risk of transmission of the virus is high because both cases involved internally displaced persons. [in an area] with an estimated population of eight thousand inhabitants, "says the report.
"Both cases had no history of polio vaccination. Immunization coverage in the affected district is 50%, lack of security being one of the main barriers to access. "
The latest figures from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative show that there have been 10 cases of vaccine-derived poliomyelitis this year: eight in Nigeria, one in Somalia and one in the Democratic Republic of the Congo of Congo. Pakistan and Afghanistan reported 24 wild type cases.
Poliomyelitis is a virus that spreads in areas where sanitation is mediocre. It attacks the nervous system and can cause irreversible paralysis a few hours after infection. Children under five are the most vulnerable, but vaccination helps prevent polio.
Vaccination-related cases tend to occur in areas where vaccination coverage is low and sanitary conditions are poor, as vaccinated persons excrete the virus, exposing unvaccinated persons to the risk of contracting it.
The risk of vaccine-induced poliomyelitis can be avoided by ceasing to use live oral polio vaccines (OPVs) – highly effective, inexpensive and easy to administer but containing live viruses – to "inactivated" vaccines ( IPV), which are effective against wild type but contain no live virus.
The use of OPV is being progressively reduced as countries eliminate strains of circulating polio virus.
Reuters
[ad_2]
Source link
