In 1988, there were an estimated 350,000 cases of polio (poliomyelitis) worldwide with over 125 polio-endemic countries but following the launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) which aims to eradicate polio worldwide, the number of polio cases was down to 406 cases in 2013 and polio was eradicated in all but three countries by the end of 2012.
Years of efforts to eradicate polio, however, may become futile as the disease has now re-emerged in at least ten countries. On Monday, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a statement about the spread of poliovirus worldwide. It said that the resurgence of polio in at least ten countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia is a global emergency that call for coordinated international response.
"The international spread of polio to date in 2014 constitutes an 'extraordinary event' and a public health risk to other States for which a coordinated international response is essential," the WHO said in a statement.
The agency said that Cameroon, Pakistan and the Syrian Arab Republic allowed the virus to spread beyond their borders and now pose the greatest risks of spreading poliovirus. The WHO has urged the governments of these countries to require their citizens who are traveling abroad to get vaccinated for polio. The agency also said that Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Israel, Equatorial Guinea, Somalia and Nigeria also pose risks of spreading the disease as these countries also have polio infection.
To date, there are at least 68 cases of polio worldwide and while this number may seem trivial, this number may increase as polio can be transmitted from one person to another. "As long as a single child remains infected, children in all countries are at risk of contracting polio," the WHO said. "Failure to eradicate polio from these last remaining strongholds could result in as many as 200,000 new cases every year, within 10 years, all over the world."
The resurgence of the disease is largely because children were denied of life-saving vaccination. Militant groups in polio endemic countries such as Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan, for instance, see vaccination efforts as cover for espionage and thus prohibit vaccination teams from reaching certain areas.
Polio primarily affects children below 5 years old and can cause paralysis and even death. The disease is incurable but can be prevented with vaccination.
