It is just the second time a virus has been eradicated in Africa, after the elimination of smallpox four decades ago, says WHO
Health authorities on Tuesday are expected to declare the African continent free of the wild poliovirus after decades of effort, though cases of vaccine-derived polio are still sparking outbreaks of the paralyzing disease in more than a dozen countries.
The declaration would leave Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan as the only countries thought to still have the wild poliovirus, with vaccination efforts against the highly infectious, water-borne disease complicated by insecurity and attacks on health workers.
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Unknown titlef smallpox four decades ago, says WHO Share Article 0 PRINT A A A In this file photo of 2013, a Somali baby receives a polio vaccine at a health center in Mogadishu, Somalia. | Photo Credit: AP <span>It is just the second time a virus has been eradicated in Africa, after the elimination of smallpox four decades ago, says WHO Health authorities on Tuesday are expected to declare the African continent free of the wild poliovirus after decades of effort, though cases of vaccine-derived polio are still sparking outbreaks of the paralyzing disease in more than a dozen countries. The declaration would leave Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan as the only countries thought to still have the wild poliovirus, with vaccination efforts against the highly infectious, water-borne disease complicated by insecurity and attacks on health workers. The announcement by the African Regional Certification Commission for Polio Eradication comes after no cases have been reported for four years. Polio once paralyzed some 75,000 children Summary
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