New Delhi: Polio, a viral disease that is highly infectious and can even cause paralysis, was once a major cause of concern in India but now, it has been 13 years since the same was eradicated. The disease could earlier spread through person-to-person contact or the fecal-oral route or by intake of contaminated food or water. And to stay safe, multiple rounds of vaccination were necessary. Doctors say that the infection begins with headaches, fever, fatigue, neck stiffness, limb pain, and sometimes nausea. One can experience meningitis and paralysis as well.
In an interaction with News9Live, Dr Showkat Nazir Wani, Consultant – Neurology at ShardaCare – The Healthcity, spoke about why the vaccination continues to hold relevance in India even after over a decade of being polio-free.
- Preventing Resurgence: The virus still exists in a few regions, notably parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. As long as polio persists anywhere, it remains a global threat.
- Global Travel and Mobility: Individuals traveling to polio-endemic regions or areas with low immunisation coverage can unknowingly carry the virus back to polio-free regions.
- Silent Transmission: Up to 90% of people infected with the poliovirus show no symptoms but can still transmit the virus. Continuous vaccination helps break the chain of transmission, even in the absence of visible cases.
- Protecting Future Generations: Complete eradication of polio requires sustained efforts across generations and halting vaccination efforts too soon could reverse decades of progress.
- Immunity Gaps: Ensuring high vaccination coverage builds a protective barrier around the Immuno-compromised vulnerable populations that are at risk of severe disease.
- Economic Impact: Polio eradication efforts have saved the world billions of dollars in healthcare costs. However, if vaccination programs were to stop, the cost of treating polio cases and managing outbreaks could skyrocket.
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