New polio cases in country due to suspension of vaccination during Covid: experts

New polio cases have been found in countries such as the US, UK and Mozambique this year as immunization programs were suspended early in the Covid pandemic, according to experts associated with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The poliovirus discovery is also a reminder that if it exists anywhere in the world, it remains a threat everywhere, said Ananda Ananda, deputy director of technology, research and analysis for the Foundation’s polio team. Dr Sankar Banjopadhyay said.

The polio virus was found in sewage in parts of London and New York a few months ago. Cases of wild poliovirus were detected in Mozambique in May and Malawi in February this year.

Polio detection is the result of low immunization coverage. In 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic first hit, the polio campaign was put on hold for his four months to protect communities and health workers from contagion. coronavirus expand. This has somewhat increased the spread of the poliovirus in each country,” Bandiopadhyay told PTI in an exclusive interview here.

An epidemiologist who graduated with a gold medal from Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata in 2005, it is clear that the Covid pandemic is having a negative impact on vaccination coverage worldwide.

But there were other challenges, including misinformation, hesitancy about vaccines, and issues like getting polio vaccines to all communities, he said.

Bandyopadhyay develops new polio vaccines, generates data to create polio immunization policies, advances in improved detection and monitoring tools, and conducts global research aimed at achieving and sustaining polio eradication. adjusting.

“Recent polio detections in the United States and United Kingdom, and confirmed outbreaks of wild poliovirus in Malawi and Mozambique earlier this year, suggest that if polio is present everywhere in the world, it remains a threat everywhere. It is an urgent reminder of

According to the website of the WHO agency Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), the last reported cases of wild poliovirus were in the United States and United Kingdom in 1979 and 1982, respectively, and in Malawi and Mozambique. It was 1992 and 1992.

An epidemiologist, who graduated from the Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata in 2005, said polio-free countries are not at risk of polio until global eradication is achieved.

In response to questions, Bandyopadhyay said health officials in the US and UK have responded appropriately, launching urgent vaccination campaigns to protect at-risk populations and better tracking the spread of the virus. He said the disease surveillance system was being strengthened in order to

“The key is to unite efforts to stop polio in countries with ongoing polio outbreaks and to strengthen public health responses in countries with import events,” he said. said.

Bandyopadhyay hailed India’s success against polio as one of the world’s greatest health achievements. Because India is one of the most difficult regions he has, many felt that the country would be the last to stop the disease.

Bandyopadhyay, who worked as a surveillance medical officer in the WHO’s National Polio Surveillance Project and contributed to India’s polio eradication and measles surveillance initiatives, said the Indian government needs to keep polio vaccination rates high. .

“The strong commitment of government, underpinned by meticulous planning and seamless coordination across all levels of government, communities, health workers and partners, is what is possible in public health when everyone works together. showed what would happen.

India, along with 10 other countries in Southeast Asia, was declared polio-free by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2014.

“Like all countries around the world, it is critical that India maintains high immunization coverage against polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases.

In July of this year, the virus was found in an unvaccinated adult man in Rockland County, New York, and in samples of some wastewater near his residence.

Poliovirus was also detected in sewage in north and east London between February and May 2022.

The virus was discovered in Mozambique in May when a child fell ill. This is the second imported case of wild poliovirus in southern Africa this year, following his one in Malawi in mid-February.

In response to a question, Bandyopadhyay described the oral polio vaccine (OPV) as the “gold standard” for vaccinating people against the disease, which has reduced polio cases by 99% worldwide since 1988. said.

It is important to see incredible signs of progress to understand what is possible when we work together. Two out of three wild polio strains have been eradicated, 20 million cases of polio paralysis have been averted, and the number of cases he has dropped by 99%. Foundation experts said it was time to double down and finish his last percent.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is a non-profit organization that fights poverty, disease and inequality around the world and was founded by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his ex-wife Melinda French Gates.

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