Poliomyelitis (Polio)
Poliomyelitis (“commonly known as Polio”) is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus that destroys the nerve cells in the spinal cord. Children below 5 years of age are more likely to contract the virus than any other group. The polio virus is so contagious that anyone living with someone who has the virus can catch it too. As a highly transmittable virus, polio transmits through contact with infected feces. For instances: objects like toys that have come near infected feces can also transmit the virus. Sometimes it can transmit through a sneeze or a cough, as the virus lives in the throat and intestines but this is less common.
According to World Health Organization (WHO); Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease, which mainly affects young children. The virus is transmitted by person-to-person spread mainly through the fecal-oral route or, less frequently, by a common vehicle (e.g. contaminated water or food) and multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system and can cause paralysis.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 in 200 polio infections will result in permanent paralysis. However, thanks to the global polio eradication initiative in 1988, the following regions are now certified polio-free:
- Americas
- Europe
- Western Pacific
- Southeast Asia
There is no cure for polio, it can only be prevented by immunization. With the global initiative of eradication of polio in 1988 following World Health Assembly resolution in 1988, Pulse Polio Immunization programme was launched in India in 1995. Each year children below 5 years of age group administered polio drops during National and Sub-national immunization rounds. About 17 crore children across the country are immunized during each National Immunization Day (NID) to sustain polio eradication. On 28th January 2017, President Pranab Mukherjee launched the programme for 2017 by administering polio drops to children at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Even one confirmed case of polio puts children in all countries at risk. Polio is still persistent in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria. India cannot afford to drop its guard, eliminating polio will benefit the nation in terms of health and economy. Although, India reported its last case of polio was from Howrah district in West Bengal on January 13, 2011.
The best possible way to prevent polio is to get the vaccination. Children should get polio vaccine according to the vaccination schedule presented by the Pulse Polio is an immunization campaign established by the government of India to eliminate poliomyelitis (polio) in India.