Small outbreaks of the very rare, vaccine-derived poliovirus remain. Source: https://www.livescience.com/africa-free-of-wild-polio.html
Tag: polio
Africa Declared Free of Wild Polio in ‘Milestone’
Africa has been declared free from wild polio by the independent body, the Africa Regional Certification Commission. From a report: Polio usually affects children under five, sometimes leading to irreversible paralysis. Death can occur when breathing muscles are affected. Twenty-five years ago thousands of children in Africa were paralysed by the virus. The disease is now only found in Afghanistan and…
Who created the polio vaccine?
In the early 1950s, Dr. Jonas Salk and Dr. Albert Sabin each found a way to protect the world from poliomyelitis, the paralysis-causing disease commonly known as polio. Here’s how they did it. Source: https://www.livescience.com/polio-virus-vaccine.html
Why the World Will Look To India For a Coronavirus Vaccine
America and India “have run an internationally recognized joint vaccine development program for more than three decades,” writes long-time Slashdot reader retroworks. And today the BBC reported the two countries are now working together on vaccines against the new coronavirus:
India is among the largest manufacturer of generic drugs and vaccines in the world. It is home to half a dozen major…
India Could be Next Virus Hotspot With an ‘Avalanche’ of Cases
India could become the next global hotspot for virus cases, with experts warning containment measures that proved successful elsewhere in Asia may not work in the world’s second-most populous country. From a report: The South Asian nation, which has so far reported 137 infections and three deaths, is trying to contain the virus by closing its borders, testing incoming travelers and…
Polio Eradication Program Faces Hard Choices as Endgame Strategy Falters
The “endgame” in the decadeslong campaign to eradicate polio suffered major setbacks in 2019. From a report: While the effort lost ground in Afghanistan and Pakistan, which recorded 116 cases of wild polio — four times the number in 2018 — an especially alarming situation developed in Africa. In 12 countries, 196 children were paralyzed not by the wild virus, but…
Vaccines have helped us eradicate another strain of wild polio virus
The World Health Organization is expected to announce that wild polio virus Type 3 has been eradicated. Type 2 has been gone since 1999 – but more work is needed Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2221113-vaccines-have-helped-us-eradicate-another-strain-of-wild-polio-virus/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
This Virus May Be Causing Mysterious Polio-Like Illness That’s Paralyzing Some Children
A mysterious polio-like illness that spiked in 2014, leading to paralysis in children across the U.S., may have divulged one of its secrets. Source: https://www.livescience.com/enterovirus-linked-acute-flaccid-myelitis.html
‘Inside Bill’s Brain: Decoding Bill Gates’ Premieres on Netflix
hcs_$reboot shared this report about Inside Bill’s Brain: Decoding Bill Gates, a new three-part documentary that debuted Friday on Netflix from Academy Award-winning director Davis Guggenheim: The Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist is asked what his worst fear is. It’s not family tragedy or personal pain. “I don’t want my brain to stop working,” he responds… A portrait emerges of a…
Philippines Declares New Polio Outbreak After 19 Years
twocows writes: Philippine health officials declared a polio outbreak in the country on Thursday, nearly two decades after the World Health Organization declared it to be free of the highly contagious and potentially deadly disease. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said at a news conference that authorities have confirmed at least one case of polio in a 3-year-old girl in southern…