Global Polio Eradication Initiative Declares “Global Emergency”

Rev 6:7,8  NCV  When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a pale horse. Its rider was named death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill people by war, by starvation, by disease, and by the wild animals of the earth.

“Explosive” outbreaks of polio in countries deemed previously free of the disease is resulting in the World Health Organization declaring a “global emergency.” The WHO is also launching an initiative to boost vaccinations in Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan, the only countries where the disease is considered endemic.

The WHO is stating they fear the disease could come back “with a vengeance” and that large outbreaks of polio have hit Africa and Tajikistan. China has reported it’s first case of polio in more than a decade.

“If eradication fails, we are going to see a huge and vicious upsurge of this disease with consequences that it is very difficult even to foresee right now,” WHO polio eradication campaign head Bruce Aylward told the BBC.

Dr. Aylward told the BBC that over the last 24 months in Europe, Africa and Asia that in some locations the death rate for adults was 50% from the disease. He also stated that there was a $950 million shortfall in funding that has forced the campaign to cut corners including stopping vaccination campaigns in some countries.

 

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