Health workers in Israel have found the poliovirus
circulating in southern Israel’s water systems, an especially problematic
health issue as Israel has not had a case of polio since 1988 and was labeled
“polio free” by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1992. The reemergence of
the poliovirus, traced by geneticists and epidemiologists to having come from
Pakistan, could infect Israeli children for the first time in over twenty
years. To prevent this, Israeli health workers have started a huge public
health revaccination campaign in which they plan to revaccinate a million
children under the age of nine to keep polio at bay. Due to increased
globalization, viruses can move more freely and quickly than ever before, with
the risk of infecting entire populations around the globe. This issue in
particular pertains to public health because of the way polio is transmitted as
well as the fact that since polio has been eradicated in many countries around
the world, communities in the developed world have their guard down and are not
at all worried about contracting polio. If polio were to spread from Israel
into Europe or the United States, it could have severe consequences, which is
why public health workers in Israel have amped up the revaccination campaign in
an effort to control the further spread of polio. Also, most developing
countries use an oral vaccine version of polio, which contains a weak amount of
live poliovirus and spreads through the environment. This is important because
the oral vaccine may increase immunity for those children who have not been
vaccinated, thereby affecting the community, while the injectable virus that
most children in the developed world receive simply immunizes the individual
from contracting the poliovirus.
Here is a link to the article, from NPR News: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/09/02/217194998/to-keep-polio-at-bay-israel-revaccinates-a-million-kids?sc=17&f=1001
I commend Israel on their efforts to reduce the rate of incidence of polio within their countries; it's refreshing to see that kind of dedication to prevention of illness and not just treatment. However, the author referenced the already high rates of polio in Somalia, Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan. Why has the news not been focused on these countries, where the virus needs serious immediate attention? They claim the affected areas are "remote" but if the virus traveled from "remote" Pakistan into Israel, then there is still significant cause for concern. I would be interested to see their national public health response plans to the spread of the polio virus, if they have initiated any, and how affective they have been thus far.
ReplyDeleteI applaud Israel's efforts to stem the tide again and prevent the poliovirus from infecting their next generation. I think this article demonstrates that even in a world with advanced medicine that due to globalization and increased transit areas previously illness free are still susceptible to contracting it. I would be curious to see the impact of the disease in remote Pakistan and if all cases are reported or not.
ReplyDeleteI would encourage you all to take a look at the link I've posted below. There are a couple of short video clips from a PBS special detailing the approach that India has taken to rid its country of polio. It touches on the cultural barriers that can slow down the progress being made.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/rxforsurvival/series/diseases/polio.html
I am curious why these cases are reappearing in some these countries that have been originally polio free. Possibly the influx of immigrants who are not vaccinated? Especially since the genetic testing revealed, that it came from somehow in the middle east in Israel. Seems like there needs to be more vaccination and public health efforts in these rural areas where the disease has been reported (Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan) in the globe. Sounds like Israel has a good foothold on tackling the disease and preventing it from getting out of hand, but what about these other countries?
ReplyDelete