Polio Makes a Comeback in Developing Countries
After 3 decades and billions of dollars invested across the world, polio looked to be on the verge the eradication. The virus had paralyzed about 350,000 children in 1988. In 2016 only 42 cases polio were recorded. Since then the virus has made a comeback in Sub-Saharan Africa, Yemen, Malaysia and the Philippines. Vaccine-derived polio is partly responsible for this resurgence, as an older vaccine that uses a weakened version of the live virus is used in some poorer countries. Small amounts of the virus can be shed in human waste. In places with poor sanitation, the virus can replicate and infect others. In 2020 health officials have counted almost 600 cases of the vaccine-derived type oof polio and over 200 cases of the wild version.
Full Story: NPR
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