TNPSC Thervupettagam

Gabon as polio-free country

December 20 , 2017 2560 days 1122 0
  • The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Gabon a “polio-free country”, given the lack of new reported or suspected cases in the central African country.
  • Polio is a highly-infectious viral disease which mainly affects young children and can result in permanent paralysis.
  • There is no cure and it can only be prevented through immunisation.
  • Cases of polio have decreased by 99 per cent since 1988, when polio was endemic in 125 countries and 350,000 cases were recorded worldwide.
  • Now the disease is endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the WHO recorded four cases this year – two in each country.

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