Fast-acting African Polio kills 97-spurring vaccination drive

Since the first confirmation of the virus on November 4 in the Republic of Congo atleast 226 people have been diagnosed with acute flaccid paralysis- a condition often associated with polio- and 97 have been killed from this outbreak. In three West African nations, World health agencies have planned to launch a massive polio vaccination. Of those 226 people, 97 have died as of Tuesday and four of the confirmed cases has been diagnosed as polio, with the number expected to rise rapidly. Starting Friday in the Port City of Niore and the Koilou region in the Republic of Congo, a polio immunization campaign attempts to target 3 million children and adults. The age range for thos affected have mostly been between 15 and 29 years of age. UNICEF said that suspicious cases began to come up in October. Scientists have linked the resurgence of the disease in the Republic of Congo to a virus circling in nearby Angola. Polio is a highly infectious disease that targets the nervous system, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Most of the cases where people were affected show hardly any symptoms, if at all, and 4 to 8 percent show minor ones. Only in 1% of the cases do we see permanent paralyzation due to the disease.

Posted by Courtney Ecton

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/11/11/congo.polio.outbreak/index.html