Blog 10: Polio in Equatorial Guinea

The article, “Polio hits Equatorial Guinea, Threatens Central America”, is about how polio has become apparent again in Equatorial Guinea. Polio has been out of the picture for about 15 years now and there have been two cases of polio in Guinea. Two children were paralyzed on the opposite parts of the country, so this disease could be widely spread in Equatorial Guinea. It is presumed that the disease came from Cameroon, where seven children have been diagnosed and paralyzed since October. Last week, the United Nations approved sending 12,000 peacekeepers over to Equatorial Guinea to prevent any more outbursts from occurring. Nigeria has been the one country that has failed to get rid of this virus, because the primary reservoir resides there, but this year they have seemed to stray from this virus. They have gotten rid of a lot of the cases there and they have done an excellent job at preventing the disease from occurring in more people. Whenever polio is on a move in Africa, it is detrimental and dangerous.

This article is very important to note because polio is a disease that affects many people and it can have very serious side effects if not treated appropriately. It is important to note of this globally because it can affect and reach people all around the world. This outbreak in Guinea is dangerous because Equatorial Guinea has the worst polio vaccination rate in the world, so if it starts to spread it can hurt and affect many people. They have sent 12,000 peacemakers there to relieve stress and prevent the disease so other countries do not come into contact with it. Even though they are trying to prevent it, we need to be aware and follow the polio vaccine so that we can keep it clear of America and other countries worldwide. We should have faith that this disease will not reach us or others though, because Nigeria, a country that was full of polio viruses, is starting to stray from the virus and the environment is starting to become polio-free. We need to do everything we can to prevent polio and treat those that have it with effective vaccines.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/04/17/303403242/polio-hits-equatorial-guinea-threatens-central-africa