Polio free world still a Myth in Pakistan
- By Hira -
- Oct 24, 2014
World is observing world polio day to eradicate this crippling disease from the world history. World Polio Day is celebrated globally on 24th October. This day, designated by World Health Organization is a reminder of Rotary New Zealand’s essential part in wiping out Polio campaign.This day is being observed to protect and aware people about this infection. According to UNICEF the virus has been eradicated from 99 percent of the world only Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria are three endemic countries where this virus is still being reported.
Polio, Poliomyelitis or infantile paralysis is an acute disease, caused by a virus that affects the nervous system and it spreads person to person. In some cases it affects the muscle so hard that leg and hand muscles stop functioning.There are three types of Polio virus Paralytic polio, Spinal polio and Bulbar polio. It’s a wide-spread phenomenon that this virus only affects the infants but it can also be caused in adults also.
Franklin Roosevelt 32nd president of USA was one of the victims of this virus. Roosevelt got affected by Polio in 1921. He was 39 at that time, he got permanently paralyzed from the waist down. American president did not accept the fact and tried so many therapies. He always managed to laboriously walk in iron braces in public meetings and never showed up on a wheel chair. Even when he became the president of USA he was suffering from it, there are only two video clips of the president on wheel chair. He also founded Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation for hydrotherapy and treatment of polio patient.
According to the UNICEF coordinator for South Asia 220 polio virus cases have been reported in Pakistan in 2014 till date. 20 cases are being reported during this month. When world today is observing an anti polio virus day today another polio case was reported in Quetta, Pakistan. The reason behind this endemic in Pakistan is target killing of Polio workers. 30 polio workers have been killed in two years. Whereas 12 cases were reported in Afghanistan and six in Nigeria. According to UNICEF Nigeria is near to be called Polio disease and Pakistan and Afghanistan border is the root of the virus.Due to this uncontrollable condition of this virus World Health Organization has made it obligatory for Pakistani travelers to get vaccinated before leaving the country.
Today when 99 percent of the world is on a niche to be polio free, we in Pakistan still consider it, a myth to eradicate this disease. Government weather it’s federal or provincial needs to take serious measure to deal with this calamity.
A global movement has brought #polio cases down 99% since 1988 & saved 10 million people from paralysis. #Vaccineswork to #endpolio!
— salman ahmad (@sufisal) October 24, 2014
Another #polio case in Pakistan detected in Khyber Agency total number of cases210.PMLN gov plz for the sake of the children in Pakistan ACT
— Aseefa B Zardari (@AseefaBZ) October 20, 2014
Two drops can change life #LetsEndPolioInPakistan @PTI_tsunami @nadiachoudhary @AsimKhanPTI @MaanImranKhan pic.twitter.com/Pa7V8Cvx3R
— Ali Affan (@AliiAffan) October 23, 2014