After being ravaged by the deadly Ebola virus, Guinea and Mali are now faced with another ordeal. A 19-month old infant was paralyzed after having the polio vaccine. The World Health Organization reported on Monday that this is the first case since 2011. Thus, there is a high chance that the polio virus could spread throughout the two countries.
Health authorities in Mali reported that the boy was paralyzed on July 20. They later found out that the strain of the virus found in the boy was the same strain detected in Guinea in August 2014.
Polio is a highly contagious viral disease that can lead to paralysis, breathing problems and even death. The virus can be transmitted via the fecal-oral route, and in areas with poor sanitation, this could spread like wildfire.
In most countries, the virus has been permanently eradicated since an effective vaccine has been used. However, in this case, the virus was derived from the vaccine itself. This has created a setback in global efforts to eradicate the crippling disease as two new cases were also reported in Ukraine last week.
The World Health Organization is warning the public of the spread of the disease since these countries have very low vaccination rates, reports ABC News.
"The risk of spread is considered to be high in both countries due to low rates of vaccination coverage in both Mali and Guinea," WHO spokesman Cory Couillard said in a comment to Reuters.
Even if vaccine-derived polio virus (VDVP) outbreaks are slow, it can pose health risks to countries and communities where immunization rates are low. In fact, WHO says that vaccination rates in Guinea decreased from 63% to 42% in 2014.
Polio has no cure and vaccinating against the disease is still the best recommendation of many health organizations.