Vaccines against polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases are applied free of charge in 1,600 health centers across the country. Enrique Pesantes / TRADE.
The alert was activated in July in New York (United States). A 20 year old man, what has not been vaccinatedwas diagnosed with paralytic poliomyelitis. Investigations determined that it was a poliovirus derived from the vaccine.
It was detected in samples of waste water of Rockland County, where the young man lives, so it would be the source of contagion. The surveillance capability in the United States made it possible to find the origin of the case. But the alert for the Americas remains, because the traceability It is scarce in much of the region.
i are added low immunization rates against polio and more preventable diseases. Optimal coverage is 95%, but the region does not exceed 80%. “The occurrence of cases and / or outbreaks cannot be ruled out”, warns the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Therefore, for the organism the risk is high.
Last week, health ministers decided to prioritize plans to mitigate polio and increase vaccination.
serious consequences
Little has been said about polio since then last case reported in Peru, in 1991. But years ago, the wild polio virus paralyzed 1,000 children every day in the world. Its consequences could go beyond flaccid paralysis.
If it hit the respiratory muscles, the patient depended big fans to continue living. The virus is transmitted by the fecal-oral route. It enters the body through the mouth and multiplies in the intestine. There are three serotypes: type 1, type 2 and type 3. The latter two have been isolated and their eradication has already been declared. Only type 1 continues to circulate Afghanistan and Pakistan, like the wild poliovirus.
The pediatric infectologist Christian Campoverde clarifies that the New York case it is not associated with this serotype, but with vaccines that use the virus in their manufacture. to exist two types of vaccines: one of dormant viruswhich is applied by intramuscularly; y other oralwhat contains live attenuated virus. Speaking is related to the alert in the United States.
They are drops that activate the immunity of the digestive system and generate immunoglobulins as a defense and then part of the virus is eliminated via the fecal route. So you can get to the sewers, like in New York. This way, you usually get it herd effect, a kind of indirect immunization. Those who have immunological problems, such as primary immunodeficiencies, can develop the disease if they are not vaccinated, although these cases are rare.
That’s why in the immunization strategies priority is given to the use ofintramuscular vaccine in the first two applications. T. each child needs five doses against poliomyelitis: three to six months y two boosters at 18 months and also thefive years.
Ecuador prepares the campaign
There is no curefor polio. It can only be prevented with vaccines, but Ecuador does not have good figures . The coverage against the virus reached 50% between January and last July; the the target was 58%.For the first half of 2023 the The Ministry of Health is preparing a vaccination campaign counter door to door poliomyelitiseven against rubella y measleswhat reported outbreaks in Colombia and Venezuela.In two months it is expected to reach five million children.
