On 25 August, the World Health Organization declared that the risk of transmission of polio virus remained a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern".
The WHO Emergency Committee has held a relevant evaluation meeting on the 16th. On the 25th, WHO issued a statement saying that after discussion, the committee had put forward a series of recommendations to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on the current situation of virus transmission and future prevention and control, and the Director-General adopted the recommendations and decided on the 23rd that the risk of transmission of poliovirus still constitutes a "public health emergency of international concern".
According to WHO, Pakistan and Afghanistan have reported 1 and 5 new cases of wild poliovirus infection since the Committee's last assessment meeting; In Africa, coordinated action by several countries has improved since the detection of wild poliovirus locally in February 2022. Mozambique has not reported any new cases since 10 August 2022, but the Committee concluded that previous assessments did not rule out the possibility of continued wild poliovirus transmission in Malawi and Mozambique.
For "vaccine-derived" poliovirus type 2, the Committee said that although the number of cases infected with the virus continues to decline, the risk of international transmission remains high. According to reports, when a community's immunity to poliovirus is reduced to a certain level, the attenuated virus in oral vaccines can spread for a long time, resulting in "vaccine-derived poliovirus transmission".
The Committee considers that the risk of international spread of poliovirus remains due to the risk of cross-border transmission of poliovirus, inadequate surveillance in some areas, and inadequate vaccination in some areas. The Committee called for enhanced surveillance of the virus in all its aspects.
What is polio?
By what contagion?
How can it be prevented?
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Polio is polio
Contagious
Poliomyelitis, also known as polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Poliovirus has a neurotropic effect, invading motor nerve cells of the central nervous system, and mainly motor neuron damage in the anterior horn of the spinal cord.
Spondylitis virus can cause acute intestinal symptoms, and early symptoms such as fever, pharyngeal discomfort, irritability, diarrhea or constipation, sweating, nausea, and muscle aches may occur. "Asymmetric flaccid paralysis" occurs after fever subsides (occurs in a small number of people during fever).
"Asymmetric flaccid paralysis" is asymmetric (unilateral or bilateral) flaccid paralysis of limbs and/or abdominal muscles with decreased somatic or limb muscle tone, decreased muscle strength, and diminished or absent deep tendon reflexes without sensory impairment.
It is mainly transmitted by fecal-oral
Children under 5 years of age are the most likely to be "targeted"
Sick people, recessive infections and carriers of the virus are the main sources of infection for polio.
The main route of transmission is fecal-oral transmission, and pharyngeal detoxification can be transmitted by droplets early in the onset of the disease. Contaminated hands, food, supplies, clothing, toys can also spread the virus.
It is worth noting that the population has a general susceptibility to the disease, with the onset predominantly in children under 5 years of age.
Vaccination is against polio
The most cost-effective method
There is no cure for polio, and the most effective and easiest way to prevent it is polio vaccination.
In 2000, the continent was certified polio-free by the World Health Organization. According to the World Health Organization, as long as one child is infected with poliovirus globally, children in all countries are still at risk of contracting the disease, and all children worldwide should be fully vaccinated against polio.
The polio vaccines currently in use in the mainland include two types of inactivated vaccines and live attenuated vaccines. Among them, live attenuated vaccine is administered orally, and inactivated vaccine is administered by injection.
The immunization schedule is 2 doses of IPV (inactivated polio vaccine) + 2 doses of bOPV (live attenuated bivalent polio vaccine), 1 dose of inactivated vaccine at 2 months and 3 months of age, and 1 dose of live attenuated 2-valent polio vaccine at 4 months and 4 years of age.
The following groups of people are recommended to use IPV throughout the process according to the instructions:
Primary immunodeficiency, thymic disease, HIV infection, malignancy undergoing chemotherapy, recent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, use of immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory drugs (e.g., high-dose systemic corticosteroids, alkylating agents, antimetabolites, TNF-α inhibitors, IL-1 blockers, or other immune cell-targeted monoclonal antibody therapy), current or recent immune cell-targeted radiation therapy, etc.
Edit | Zhang Zhiying Editor-in-Charge | Zhang Xiuli
Comprehensive source | Xinhua News Agency, Guangdong Disease Control
Produced by Guangdong Health Online All-media Team