Pará starts investigation into suspected infantile paralysis

A suspected case of infantile paralysis is being investigated by the Ministry of Health. The body was notified by the State Department of Public Health of Pará (Sespa). The investigation is being carried out on a 3-year-old boy from the County of Santo Antônio do Tauá, in the Northeast region of the state. suspicion-if whatOpoliovirushe wasfoundin the fecesinone patient withparalysisIt is with others symptoms.

Read more: Poliomyelitis: what it is, symptoms, treatment, vaccine and prevention

Infantile paralysis is investigated in the state of Pará

Yousymptomsof child appeared on the 21st of August. Among them, it was reported fever, pains muscular and paralysisacute. These are features of polio.Days after, he it lost The strengthin the limbs inferior and went forwarded for your responsibleforthe unity Basic of Health (UBS) on September 12.

The Sespa communicated that all possible assistance was given to the patient, who

is resting and recovering in House. The team too acts for the investigation and enlightenment of the case.

In your rreportof rbaitfrom the Center of Iinformation Strategies in Health Surveillance, was considered what other hypotheses diagnoses, such as Thesyndromeof Guillain-Barré, had not yet been discarded.

Vaccine information and data

Poliomyelitis has no treatment, but the National Immunization Program has vaccines that are safe, effective and need to be used to protect children from their birth.

The NIP recommends the vaccination intramuscularly at 2, 4 and 6 months of age. Immunity is acquired at 15 months. At 4 years old, it is already taken orally. During the annual vaccination campaign, like the last one that was carried out not long ago, the procedure can be done. achieve ahighroofvaccine he was essential for to eliminatethe disease.

the paralysischildishhe wasreportedfor thelastturnin the country in 1989. ANDm 1994, the entire American continent was certified as a free area in polioviruswildby the Organization Pan American of health (PAHO).

Despite this, the drop in coverage of vaccines against the disease, repeated since 2016, has generated warnings on the part of specialists that claim that the country may re-register cases of polio, which will cause irreversible motor damage to children and even the death.

According to the National Immunization Program Information System (SI-PNI), the last time the planned vaccine dosages intramuscular against the disease reached the target of 95% of the target audience was in 2015, where its coverage was 98.29% of children born that year.

Since 2016, coverage he is below from 90% It is reached84,19% in 2019. In 2020, the pandemic of the Covid-19 had an impact nTheroof of various vaccines, reaching only 76.15% of babies vaccinated. In 2021, thatrateit was leftbelow of 70% for the first time, with only 69.9%. In the state of Pará, where the investigation takes place, the percentage was even lower: only 55.73% were vaccinated in the year.

This problem is not exclusive to Brazil, as the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) highlighted seven other Latin American countries as areas in highrisk for reintroduction of the disease. Crossing the ocean, the wild virus is also back on the African continent.

Actions of the Ministry of Health against the disease

A nationwide vaccination campaign was carried out by the Ministry of Health between August 8th and September 30th, but the event failed to meet its immunization goal. The minister, Marcelo Queiroga, pointed out that he expected that on the 5th, the target of vaccinating 95% of children up to 5 years old would be achieved, but that currently coverage is around 60%.

The ministry notified that there are records of the circulation of the poliomyelitis virus in the country and that a team was sent to Pará to investigate the case. According to the team, according to the information about what happened, everything could be related to inadequate treatment of the disease or else to the side effects of the vaccine.

A versionoral Against the polio, that is, with drops,éprovided in Brazil just for children that have already been vaccinated with the three doses from the vaccineperinjection intramuscularly, which would not have beendonein this case.

“The Ministry from the Health reinforces that parents and guardians vaccinate to the your children with all doses indicated for to maintain O protected country of poliomyelitis, a disease eradicated in Brazil.“