Taliban call off polio vaccination drives: UN

Sub : IR

Sec: Places in news

Context:

UN says that Taliban has suspended polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan. No reason was given for the suspension.
Afghanistan is one of two countries in which the spread of the disease has never been stopped. The other is Pakistan.
WHO has confirmed 18 polio cases in Afghanistan this year. That’s up from six cases in 2023.

About Polio:

Polio, also called Poliomyelitis is a viral disease that destroys the nerve cells present in the spinal cord, causing paralysis or muscle weakness to some parts of the body and is fatal in rare cases.
It is a contagious disease affecting the nervous system and is caused by Picornaviridae, a poliovirus.
The virus is transmitted from person-to-person through:
- Oral-faecal route.
- contaminated food or water.
This virus primarily grows and multiplies in the intestine, from where it can attack the nervous system and will cause polio and paralysis on an advanced level.
It mostly affects children under 5 years of age.

Polio vaccines:

There is no cure to Polio, but it can be prevented through immunization. There are two types of polio vaccines available:
Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV):
- Developed by Albert Sabin.
- Administered orally.
- Contains weakened live polioviruses.
- Easier to administer and induces community-wide immunity (herd immunity).
- Rare risk of vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) which can cause paralysis in unvaccinated populations.
Injectable Polio Vaccine (IPV):
- Developed by Jonas Salk.
- Administered via injection.
- Contains inactivated (killed) polioviruses.
- No risk of vaccine-derived poliovirus.
IPV is used in many countries for routine immunization due to its safety profile.

Herd immunity:

Herd immunity happens when enough people are vaccinated against a disease, making it difficult for the illness to spread.
This protects people who aren’t vaccinated.
For polio, about 80–85% of the population needs to be vaccinated to stop the spread.