Public health authorities in wealthy economies are racing to head off a return of polio, after the virus has turned up in several countries where it had been all but stamped out.
Health authorities in New York City on Friday said they detected polio in samples taken from the sewage system. Last month a man in suburban New York was diagnosed with the US’s first case since 2013.
In London, health officials this week said they would offer polio vaccine boosters to hundreds of thousands of children after the virus was detected in London wastewater.
Israel earlier identified its first cases since 1988 and there has been a cluster in war-torn Ukraine, where health services are under huge strain. The situation is raising concerns that vaccine hesitancy and global conflicts could allow a disease that was on the brink of global eradication to make a comeback.
I – Word Understanding
Polio – a disabling and life-threatening disease caused by the poliovirus
Stamped out – stopped or destroyed something
Eradication – the complete destruction of somethin
II – Have Your Say
1, Have you ever heard of Polio? What do you know about it?
2, From Covid-19, here comes monkey pox and polio. Vaccination has become a means to stop or prevent diseases. How do you feel about vaccination? Are you open to having more vaccinations, not only Covid-19 but other possible infectious diseases?
3, Why do you think there are more diseases spreading around and how do you think we can continue to live normally despite these
viruses?
897 Polio virus reappears in rich economies, exposing gaps in immunization
