GUYS, WE DID IT! The WHO has declared the South-East Asia region (including India) POLIO-FREE!!
13 replies, posted
[URL="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/mar/28/india-10-other-asian-countries-declared-polio-free"]India and 10 other Asian countries declared polio free[/URL]
[QUOTE]India and 10 other Asian countries have been declared free of polio, meaning the disease has been eradicated in 80% of the world.
The World Health Organisation certified the south-east Asian region – which includes India but excludes Afghanistan and Pakistan – polio-free after three years without a single new case being reported. The WHO said this meant 80% of the world's population lived in polio-free regions, an important step towards global eradication of the crippling disease.
...
There are only three countries where polio is still endemic: Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. However, isolated outbreaks in the Horn of Africa and war-torn Syria emerged as causes for concern in 2013, and vaccination workers in Pakistan are still being killed by the Taliban. "Until polio is globally eradicated, all countries are at risk, and the region's polio-free status remains fragile," [WHO's regional director, Poonam Khetrapal] Singh cautioned.
The certification is particularly significant in India, home to 1.2 billion people, which until 2009 accounted for half of all cases globally. The certification confirms one of India's biggest public health success stories, accomplishing something once thought impossible, thanks to a massive and sustained vaccination programme.
India celebrated the milestone on 13 January, which marked three years since the last reported new case in the country, of a teenage girl in a slum in the eastern city of Kolkata. India reported 150,000 cases of paralytic polio in 1985, and 741 new infections that led to paralysis in 2009. In the following year, the number fell to double figures before the last case in January 2011.[/QUOTE]
[I](We missed it when it happened, but better a couple weeks late than never, in the wake of the recent health stories.)[/I]
I never expected to see India eradicate Polio in my lifetime, but holy fuck the world did it. This is [I]massive[/I]. Regardless of what bullshit antivaxxers are doing to damage immunity levels, something great has been accomplished and the world's been made a substantially better place. For hundreds of millions of people, the tireless efforts of an unknowable number of faceless, hardworking, devoted doctors and medical and humanitarian staff have created them a future that won't be overshadowed by disfigurement and paralysis, nor will that future be cut short unnecessarily.
This is beautiful. There's still a lot of hard work to be done, and Polio is only one thing threatening us, but what an amazing accomplishment.
I didn't know Pete Townshend was a doctor. .
Goodbye and good riddance. This is another weight off of medicos' shoulders.
I hope this inspires people to understand that vaccines are good for you and not likely to cause any harm if you take them.
it'll be good to see polio go the way of smallpox and rinderpest - and soon, dracunculiasis as well
[QUOTE=lavacano;44572286]I didn't know Pete Townshend was a doctor. .[/QUOTE]
I didn't know Pete Townshend owned a TARDIS...
Alright Pakistan come on step it up
[QUOTE=Elecbullet;44572303]it'll be good to see polio go the way of smallpox and rinderpest - and soon, [B]dracunculiasis[/B] as well[/QUOTE]
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracunculiasis]Holy fuck that's horrifying.[/url]
[QUOTE=mugofdoom;44573878][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracunculiasis]Holy fuck that's horrifying.[/url][/QUOTE]
And significantly less cool than the name implies. At least it's mostly not deadly.
'We'.
[QUOTE=mugofdoom;44573878][url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracunculiasis]Holy fuck that's horrifying.[/url][/QUOTE]
that's what the Caduceus supposed originated from too:
[t]http://multimedicaltx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/caduceus.jpg[/t]
Why the hell does my Grandpa still have it. Or maybe it's the after effects or something :(
[QUOTE=whatthe;44582891]Why the hell does my Grandpa still have it. Or maybe it's the after effects or something :([/QUOTE]
Unfortunately, the vaccine is a prevention, but not a miracle. It can't fix damage caused by polio before the vaccine could be given.
[QUOTE=Eltro102;44579475]that's what the Caduceus supposed originated from too:
[t]http://multimedicaltx.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/caduceus.jpg[/t][/QUOTE]
More like the Rod of Asclepius, but that's just a theory.
[url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_of_Asclepius[/url]
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