Poliomyelitis, which became a deadly viral disease in a large number of children around the world, is about to be eradicated, because since 1988 the number of minors with this condition has decreased by 99 percent, according to figures from the Unicef.
However, due to the covid-19 pandemic, there was an interruption in vaccination campaigns and the reappearance of the disease in some parts of the world is due to thousands of children remain unvaccinated against polio y to eliminate it completely, each child in each family must be vaccinated, says the agency.
And it is that, according to Unicef, in addition to the interruption of the campaigns vaccination for the coronavirus, many of the minors live in isolated areas, fragileaffected by conflict, which makes it even more difficult access to immunizations.
But that is not all, since the health authorities point out that misinformation about vaccines is another factor hampering efforts to eradicate the disease.
Initiative to eradicate polio
As a main partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), UNICEF helps immunize more than 400 million children around the world against the disease each year. which consists of provide safe vaccines, build trust and encourage parents to what vaccinate your children.
Thus, Unicef manages the procurement and distribution of more than one billion polio doses per year, representing more than 50 percent of the oral polio vaccines in the world.
Poliomyelitis in Mexico
In Mexico, thanks to vaccination campaigns, polio has been eradicated for 30 years. Every year, the Mexican Social Security Institute, administers more than eight million immunizations to children under four years of age.
Although the disease is eradicated in the country, vaccination is essential, since there is a risk that tourists from other countries could be carriers of the virus and if the population is not protected, It can be a source of contagion.
In Mexico, in 1990, the last case of poliomyelitis occurred in Tomatlán, Jalisco. And worldwide, until 1988 there were 350 thousand annual cases of poliovirus. Pakistan and Afghanistan had a regular presence of the disease, but for 2015, they registered less than 80 cases.
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