Polio is a disease that has no cure. It is caused by the poliomyelitis virus that is transmitted from one person to another through nasal or oral secretions or through contact with contaminated feces. It infects the spinal cord, causing paralysis and permanent disability.
However, the polio vaccine prevents this disease. The Ministry of Health (Minsa) provides it free of charge to boys and girls from 2 months to 5 years. To be protected, each infant needs 3 doses (at 2, 4 and 6 months) and 2 boosters (at 18 months and 4 years).
Many people still remember that, during the 1980s and 1990s, polio or also known as “infantile paralysis” caused children, who were not vaccinated, to have deformed or paralyzed legs and in the worst case, they died.
In Peru, a polio survivor is Mrs. Leti Rojas Ramos, a native of Loreto, who as a child did not receive the corresponding vaccinations and unfortunately contracted the polyvirus. Her right leg became deformed and for several years she was unable to walk. However, thanks to intense treatment, she was rehabilitated and at the age of 10 she was able to take her first steps.
“My dad was a teacher and he traveled through the Strait, so I didn’t have vaccinations. At the age of 2 I had polio, since then I have not walked. I suffered many years. And when my dad brought me to Iquitos, I had therapy and I was able to walk, only at the age of 10. That is why I ask parents to take their children to be vaccinated against polio, so that they do not suffer like me”, Leti Rojas narrated.
For 32 years, Peru has not registered cases of poliomyelitis. In order not to have patients like Leti again, the Minsa has the objective of exceeding 90% of children under 5 years of age vaccinated against this disease.
For this reason, since July 1, it has been carrying out an intense vaccination sweep in Amazonas, Arequipa, Lambayeque, Lima, Callao, Loreto, Madre de Dios, Moquegua, Puno, San Martín, Tacna, Tumbes and Ucayali, localities where it is necessary to increase vaccination coverage to prevent an outbreak of the disease.
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Published: 7/23/2023
2023-07-23 19:00:02
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