In the United States, we have been fortunate enough to have a quite peaceful nation, free from many detrimental diseases. In Syria, the aren't as fortunate. Polio, an eradicated disease in many areas, like the United States, has resurfaced. The ongoing civil war is a major contributing factor in the resurfacing of the disease. Another factor is the prevalence of the disease among border countries, like Afghanistan. Officials believe twenty- two individuals have contracted Polio, a majority of these cases involve young children. To combat this suspected Polio outbreak, the World Health Organization is implementing a six month emergency vaccination program to hopefully prevent others from contracting Polio as well. Officials believe the only way to rid Syria of Polio is to "start over" with a new vaccination program. This new program would benefit all of the people of Syria, especially children. Children born after the beginning of the civil war have not had the opportunity to become vaccinated, thus leading to an increased likelihood of contracting Polio. Hopefully, the people of Syria can receive the vaccines and the prevention efforts will help to decrease Polio. THe ultimate goal is to eradicate the disease from the area, altogether.
In Epidemiology, I learned diseases don’t contain themselves within borders, they can spread amongst many countries and be detrimental to a vast majority of individuals. The study of Epidemiology can help to understand the spread of the disease throughout various populations, but also addresses ideas for prevention, like the implementation of the Polio vaccination program. They want to help prevent those who are not ill from becoming ill and limiting the amount of people that are sick. Throughout the class and writing these blogs I am learning so much about how Epidemiology can take many different shapes and help combat various issues all over the world.
Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/polio-outbreak-prompts-vaccine-operation-syria/story?id=20704872
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