Through its most recent bulletin, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reported on the isolation of the polio virus in Venezuela, a disease that had not been recorded in the country for several years.
lapatilla.com
This was announced by Alejandro Crespo, President of the Venezuelan Society of Childcare and Pediatrics in the state of Aragua, who highlighted the seriousness of the discovery and the lack of official information from national authorities.
“How old is the patient? Is he seriously ill? Is he still paralyzed? Where is he from? Well, we don’t know anything. Venezuela has not published the Epidemiological Bulletin since 2016, which should contain all that information. It is something that should come out weekly,” Crespo said.
He also pointed out that although the virus identified is not of wild origin, but a strain derived from the Sabin P3 oral vaccine, it reflects the low vaccination coverage in Venezuela, leaving it as the third country with the most children without receiving any dose in America, only surpassed by Brazil and Mexico, which are much more populated countries.
Furthermore, he warned that the prolonged circulation of the virus in “poorly vaccinated” populations can cause mutations that, although derived from the vaccine, are very capable of causing the disease.
Faced with this situation, Crespo made an urgent call to the Ministry of Health to provide detailed information on the case, declare a health emergency and deploy an action plan that includes massive vaccination days and an information campaign.
“Meanwhile, we must explain to people that the vaccine is safe and it must be given to all children who have pending doses and even to those who have already been vaccinated must be reinforced, so that no one is alarmed, so that we all help to get out of this pit of the worst vaccinated on the continent,” he insisted.