World Health Organization has declared the spread of polio as a threat to global public. WHO said in its official statement that if “the spread of vaccine preventable diseases is not checked, it may put the whole world in the jeopardy”. According to WHO, adult travelers are the main contributors of its spread and unless we do not increase vaccination, it will remain a global threat.
Polio is grossly affecting the children under the age of 5. It is said that this infection results in irreversible paralysis that can only be contained through vaccination. On the contrary, emergency committee of WHO claims that Pakistan, Syria and Cameroon are the countries that have spread the virus internationally.
The officials of WHO said that “Polio had spread from Cameroon to Equatorial Guinea, from Syria to Iraq and from Pakistan to Afghanistan”. Besides, the WHO report claims that polio in Syria has recurred after the absence of 15 years. It says that the ongoing civil war has gravely hampered the immunization rates.
Apart from this, WHO assistant director-general for polio Dr. Bruce Aylward said that “so far 74 cases of polio have been reported, of those, 59 cases are from Pakistan”. The WHO committee said that Syria, Cameroon and Pakistan need to declare national public health emergency to contain the virus and must vaccinate all visitors and permanent residents.
The committee further said that whosoever would travel from the above cited countries, will need to carry a certificate testifying the vaccination proof. Last but not the least, Polio in the United States had been eradicated in 1970s.