THE DIRECTOR of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is warning against an increase in polio cases in the region, with neighbouring Venezuela at high risk.
Speaking at a virtual media conference on covid19 and monkeypox in the Americas, Dr Carissa Etienne said there has been a 79 per cent increase in cases since 1994 in the region.
“Brazil, Dominican Republic, Haiti and Peru are at very high risk of reintroduction of polio. Argentina, Bahamas, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Suriname and Venezuela are at high risk.”
She noted that the Americas were the first region to eradicate polio and was concerned that it was spreading again, thanks to the vaccine hesitancy that arose during the covid19 pandemic.
Monkeypox cases, she said, were also increasing in the region, as she warned that polio crippled generations in the past and a return to that is not wanted.
“Polio is not treatable: only vaccination can address it. There is a below 80 per cent vaccination rate for polio in some South American countries,” she said, adding that no one should take lifesaving vaccines for granted.
She said the region’s health officials have already been alerted to the risk involved and the need to catch up on immunisation as a matter of urgency. But there is a silver lining, she said, as the concerns can be addressed in a short time frame.
Etienne, whose tenure ends in January next year, said health ministers from the region will vote on her successor at the Pan American Sanitary Conference next week. She was elected to serve from February 2018-January 2023. This is her second term in office.
As well as voting for a director, the conference will address transforming the region’s health and how to care for and protect mental health.
“We will also look at increasing the genomic surveillance to track and respond to diseases like covid19. We will also be strengthening the regulatory and manufacturing capacity to improve self-reliance and resilience for future threats.”
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