One
of the most devastating diseases in the history of man has resurfaced in
Afghanistan. Polio is back, and it’s the first confirmed case in Kubul since
2001.
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| Children receive vaccination on the outskirts of Jalalabad. Photo Courtesy of: Noorullah Shirzada/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
Health
officials say a three-year-old girl contracted the disease Tuesday. Although it
is the first confirmed case in almost 13 years, Polio is still living in
Afghanistan.
Health
officials say that most cases of Polio in Afghanistan can be traced back to
Pakistan. Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria are the only three countries where
Polio is still common.
Last
year Pakistan and Nigeria reported 93 cases and 53 cases respectively.
Afghanistan, however, has been able to reduce its number of polio cases from 80
in 2011 to 14 last year.
Other
children near the infected girl were not infected. Afghanistan director of
Unicef Akhil Iyer says there wasn’t an outbreak, which shows that immunization
wise the population, is well protected.
Unicef,
the Afghan Ministry of Public Health and the World Health Organization are
attempting to keep polio in Kubul. Iyer says the country should be able to
completely remove the disease from the country by 2015.
Militants
have attacked vaccination campaigns in Pakistan leading to several deaths of
campaign workers and the police guarding them.
Taliban
members believe that the campaigns are covers for spying. The Pakistani Taliban
have a right to be skeptical because the C-I-A used vaccination campaigns to
find Osama Bin Laden.
According
to usnews.com, however, Afghanistan’s Taliban have given full support to the
Red Cross workers.
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