Is Polio the Next Come Back King?

In Kabul, Afghanistan, the first polio case reported in over twelve years. Three-year-old Sakhina recently contracted the disease. The people of Afghanistan believe that the reason polio is making a come back is because of the interaction they have with Pakistan. Besides being their next-door neighbor, Pakistan has more polio cases throughout the country. There have been 93 recorded polio cases in Pakistan in the last year, which makes the cases in Afghanistan traceable to Pakistan. 

Although numerous vaccinations were distributed throughout Afghanistan, Military attacked and invaded the health workers trying to cure the disease. An speaker from the United Nations in Afghanistan said, "The C.I.A. has a lot to answer for in setting back polio eradication years." They believe that because of the invasion, polio is going to be more prevalent in years to come. Although the army was blamed, the Taliban militants, International and Afghan-government worked together to reduce the number of cases to 14 in 2013. Unfortunately, the 3-year-old girl was not treated enough because in November she became paralyzed. Afghanistan plans to increase the rate of immunizations in children so that they can try and conquer the disease that currently is an incurable viral infection. The country plans to try and eradicate the disease by 2015, and the way things are going the leaders believe they will achieve the goal. 

Since the 3 year olds case, their are plans to vaccinate over 73,000 children that are living in the same area as the girl. They believe that since there was only one case in over 12 years that the immunity of the area is pretty good. A Unicef official said, "It meant the population, in terms of immunity, is well protected." He says that the security of the rest of the people is intact because there were no other polio cases found. 

Polio, to me is one of the most devastating diseases because there is not much you can do to stop it from paralyzing the victim. The people of Afghanistan and Pakistan were infected with numerous cases of polio over the years, and after 12 years of having no cases it arises again in Afghanistan. Luckily there was only one case reported, but who knows what's in store for them in the future. I think that they are on the right tract by providing immunization for thousands of children. They are trying to be as preventative and safe as they can be. Out of all the diseases we have studied, I think that polio is one of the worse. Yes, smallpox and typhoid were bad, but at least there was something that could be done to prevent it from spreading further. Hopefully in the future, someone will find a way to eradicate the disease completely. 

website: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/12/world/asia/rare-afghan-polio-case-tied-to-pakistan.html?_r=0

picture: https://www.nytexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Polio-Vaccination-Given-in-Afghanistan.jpg