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Poliovirus Spreads to Equatorial Guinea

Poliovirus Spreads to Equatorial Guinea
The Polio Global Eradication Initiative announced that “a new wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case was reported in Equatorial Guinea” on April 16 2014.  The country has reported three known cases and due to the genetic sequencing of the virus, health officials believe the virus spread from neighboring country, Cameroon.

This poliovirus outbreak contradicts Equatorial Guinea’s statistics in previous years. The UNICEF Annual Report 2012 for Guinea Bissau declared, “Guinea Bissau has been “polio-free” since 2009…due to vaccination campaigns through child health days and strengthened routine immunization.” According to NPR’s article “Polio Hits Equatorial Guinea, Threatens Central Africa” report, however, the country currently has a vaccination rate of only 39 percent, suggesting that routine immunization programs have decreased since 2009.

Similarly, in Cameroon, the origin of this outbreak, the World Health Organization calculated that 40 percent of children are inadequately vaccinated against the poliovirus. Immunization prevents the spread of the poliovirus, which is an infectious disease with no cure that can cause permanent paralysis. It is communicable via person-to-person contact. Children under the age of 5 are especially susceptible to contracting the virus, making proper immunization campaigns are essential to elimination of an outbreak.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), from January 2014 to April 2014 ten countries reported a total of 61 polio cases.  When an outbreak of the poliovirus began in Cameroon in October 2013, the country conducted immunization campaigns in response. On March 17 2014, however, Cameroon confirmed new cases of the poliovirus.  In the WHO’s “Poliovirus in Cameroon update”, the WHO elevated “the risk assessment of international spread of polio from Cameroon to very high.” Despite the organization’s attempt to contain the outbreak, the poliovirus spread to Equatorial Guinea.

In an April 24, 2014 UNICEF news note, UNICEF Representative in Equatorial Guinea, Dr. Brandão Có, stated, “Stopping the transmission of polio in Equatorial Guinea is a key priority in order to ensure children, families and communities are protected against this terrible and crippling disease that also has enormous social costs.” UNICEF also reported that a campaign to vaccinate 300,000 children against the virus commenced on April 24, 2014.

— Jaclyn Ambrecht

Sources: NPR, Polio Global Eradication Initiative,, UNICEF(1), UNICEF(2), World Health Organization

13 Quick Facts about the UN

UN flags
“We the Peoples of the United Nations determined to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of the men and women and of nations large and small,” the UN Charter.

Over 60 years ago an organization with a mission to bring peace to the world was born. Rightfully called the United Nations, this organization started with just a handful of nations, though now well over one hundred countries have signed up to accept the pledge of peace.

Here are some quick facts about the UN, present and past:

  1. 51 countries founded the UN in 1945.
  2. The UN’s mission is to maintain peace, security, develop friendly relations with other nations, promote social growth and advocate for human rights.
  3. New York City houses the UN’s headquarters. Three other main offices reside in Geneva, Nairobi and Vienna.
  4. The UN is comprised of six main sections: The General Assembly, The Security Council, The Economic and Social Council, the Secretariat and the United Nations Trustee Council.
  5. The original members of the UN were Russia, USA, France and the UK. These four along with the Republic of China hold five permanent seats on the Security Council.
  6. A few agencies established by the UN are the World Bank Group, the World Health Organization (WHO), The World Food Program, UNESCO and UNICEF.
  7. The current leaders of the UN are :
    • Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon (South Korea)
    • Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson (Sweden)
    • General Assembly President John William Ashe (Antigua and Barbuda)
    • Secretary Council President Gerald Araud (France)
  8. Each nation must sign the UN charter in order to join the United Nations. The Charter consists of two preambles and a series of articles.
  9. When war breaks out in a country, the UN sends peace keeping soldiers to help resolve the conflict. These soldiers are also called “Blue Helmets.”
  10. There are, currently, 183 member nations in the UN.
  11. The UN was initially established to prevent a repeat of World War II.
  12. The UN’s motto: It’s your world.
  13. Over 120,00 peacekeepers from the UN maintain civility on 4 continents.

– Amy Robinson

Sources: Wikipedia, Fun Trivia, United Nations, UNFPA
Photo: Flickr

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Malaria: Everything You Need to Know About the Disease

Malaria
Those who have visited a developing country are familiar with doctors (and parents) constantly reminding us to take our malaria pills before departure. These travelers realize that the pills will prevent them from contracting the disease, but what exactly is malaria? How do you get it? How does it spread? These are questions that many people in America and the Western world have never had to ask themselves. However, for the million people who die from this disease each year, the disease is very real and very dangerous. It all comes down to one little parasite.

Actually, there are five different types of parasites that cause malaria. These tiny organisms cannot survive without a host. The most fatal, but preventable, kind is called Plasmodium falciparu and it causes a majority of total malaria deaths every year.

The disease spreads through humans and female Anopheles mosquitoes. The infected mosquito ingests blood from a human to feed its eggs and simultaneously injects its victim with malaria organisms. The parasites now in the person’s body are absorbed by liver cells and quickly replicate, can remain dormant for up to several years, and then burst into the bloodstream, replicating and destroying blood cells.

Symptoms of malaria are often similar to those of the flu. These include chills, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle aches, and fatigue. However, if it is not immediately treated, it becomes severe malaria. The infected person will then begin to experience worse symptoms, like coma, difficulty breathing, low blood sugar, and severe anemia. When it becomes severe and goes untreated, it can lead to death. Children are particularly vulnerable because of their underdeveloped immune systems.

International health organizations are working diligently to reduce the number of the cases in the world. Ways to prevent malaria include insecticide-treated mosquito nets and insecticide spray. There are also medicines available to cure malaria infections. The World Health Organization has recommended artemisinin-based combination therapy to treat the disease, but a diagnosis is often just as important in preventing malaria deaths as medicine. Malaria researchers are developing a vaccine; unfortunately, it has not yet been perfected.

The need for new malaria treatments is imperative for everyone living in developing countries, but especially for children. Given how preventable and treatable it is, travelers need not worry; however, medicine often does not reach impoverished people in third-world countries who really need it. With public support, health organizations are working to make sure this becomes a trend of the past.

– Mary Penn
Source: MMV
Photo:  X Index