World Polio Day, 24 October 2011
As part of the Government Employees Medical Scheme's (GEMS) ongoing effort to educate our members and future members on a range of healthcare topics, we would like to share real life member stories with you and explore certain important healthcare issues. This article looks at the subject of polio this World Polio Day, 24 October 2011.
When Patrick Kubeka's* son Themba asked him why his 78-year-old grandfather was in a wheelchair and was not able to use his legs, he explained to Themba that the elderly man had contracted a disease called polio when he was a teenager.
"Thanks to the polio vaccination we don't see this illness in South Africa anymore," said Patrick, who is a GEMS member from Durban in KwaZulu-Natal. "But when your grandfather was a boy polio was a huge healthcare issue much like HIV/Aids is today. Tata got polio when he was fifteen and has been in a wheelchair ever since."
"Your grandfather's doctor told me that polio is caused by a virus that attacks the central nervous system. In your grandfather's case it left him without the use of his legs, but it can apparently leave some people completely paralysed."
Some 20 years ago polio was a major concern as it had spread to more than 125 countries worldwide, infecting over 350 000 people globally and paralysing more than 1 000 children every day. Today, thanks to the Polio Global Eradication Initiative, more than two billion children around the world have been immunised against this debilitating and life-threatening disease.
World Polio Day is held on 24 October every year to commemorate the terrible effects that the disease has had on the lives of millions of innocent people all over the world as well as to celebrate the great achievements that have been made in the battle against polio.
Polio is an infectious viral disease caused by poliovirus types 1, 2 and 3. It attacks the nervous system and usually leads to some sort of paralysis as well as headaches, weakness and breathing problems. Serious cases of infection can result in total paralysis within hours.
This virus is contracted through the mouth in unhygienic conditions and multiplies in the intestine. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) one in every 200 people with polio will become permanently paralysed within hours, usually in the legs. If any major organs such as the lungs become paralysed, death can even occur.
Polio is infectious and can be prevented but not cured. This is why vaccination against the poliovirus is so important in children. In South Africa all children are immunised at birth, 6, 10 and 14 weeks, 18 months and 5 years.
"Don't worry. You have had your polio vaccines so you are not likely to have a problem with Polio," said Patrick reassuringly to his concerned son. "I understand that we in South Africa have also not had a confirmed case of the disease since the late 1980s. It is usually only in countries where a lot of people have not been vaccinated where polio has been a problem in recent times."
Polio may have a number of different types of symptoms and sometimes no symptoms at all. The following are sometimes the symptoms of polio infection:
A 2003 outbreak of the type 1 poliovirus in Nigeria spread to a further twelve polio-free countries in West Africa and the Horn of Africa, and even as far as Indonesia and Yemen. This was brought under control through the mass vaccination of people. There were 1 349 reported polio cases from around the world in 2010.
As polio still exists people should be made aware of it. This is particularly important for anyone who may be travelling to countries such as Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan. Medical practitioners advise that if visiting any of these countries, the traveller should go for a polio vaccination booster, even if he or she was vaccinated as a child.
If you would like to know how GEMS can assist you to obtain more information about any of your healthcare needs, you can contact the GEMS call centre on 0860 00 4367 or send an SMS to 083 450 4367. GEMS will assist you in every way possible to ensure your family's health and well-being.
References
5. Polio Global Eradication Initiative, http://www.polioeradication.org/Dataandmonitoring/Poliothisweek.aspx.
6. ‘Poliomyelitis', The World Health Organisation - www.who.int.
7. ‘Poliomyelitis', PubMed Health, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002375/.
*The member's name has been changed in order to protect his identity.
0860 00 4367 (Call Centre) [email protected] More Contacts >