The last case of polio in Europe dated back to 2010, and scientists hoped to have eradicated the disease from European territory. But, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), two cases of polio have just been confirmed in young children (4 years and 10 months), in Ukraine, a country where no case of polio had been reported. registered since 1996.
According to the WHO press release, the disease has reappeared in the region of Transcarpathia, an area in southwestern Ukraine, bordering Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland. However, the WHO considers the risk of international contamination to be low. The disease reappeared from the attenuated virus used in polio vaccination. Although this virus is not as virulent, it can mutate and cause disease in people with weakened immune systems.
Polio mainly affects children under 5 years old. The virus invades the nervous system, causing paralysis in one in 200 cases. According to the polio association “Polio global eradication initiative”, Ukraine remains particularly exposed to the risk of the virus appearing, for lack of appropriate vaccination. Only 50% of children were vaccinated in 2014 against this highly contagious disease.
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