The Return of Poliomyelitis in Papua New Guinea

Poliomyelitis almost eradicated globally, resists in some particularly poor and overpopulated parts of the world. In Papua New Guinea, for example, there have been no cases since 2000: the infection of a six-year-old child in the eastern province of Morobe is the first case recorded since 18 years old.

The child was admitted with the first symptoms of polio-virus on April 28 and the actual infection was confirmed three weeks later. A few days ago, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) discovered the presence of a enterovirus strain in faecal samples from two other children in the same community, which led to the return of the epidemic.

Insufficient coverage Cases are isolated here in this province alone, where vaccination levels are still very low: only 61% of children receive all three recommended doses of the vaccine. To prevent the spread of polioviruses, which spread through fecal gold (mainly due to poor hygiene or contamination of food and water), the WHO has ordered a vaccination campaign for children and young people under 15 years old.

The Consequences Children are the most vulnerable to the pathogen, which multiplies in the intestine and then reaches the nervous system, resulting in meningitis, limb paralysis and even death, if the paralysis touches the muscles of the chest. The lack of adequate sanitation and contamination of water sources make it more difficult to contain the spread of viruses, which however should not pose a global danger, given the isolation of the region, from where and from which journeys are rare. .

A step away from the goal Worldwide, thanks to vaccination campaigns, poliomyelitis cases have decreased by 99% in 30 years. In 1988, about 350,000 people were infected in 125 countries of the world: 29 years later, there were only 22 cases in 2017. Polio outbreaks continue in Nigeria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and – now we know it – Papua Nuova Guinea. For this disease there is no cure: the only useful approach is the preventive one, with two types of vaccines, one by mouth and the other by intramuscular route.