In Brazil, 94.4% of children up to five have been immunized against polio
Some 12 million children were immunized durign the vaccination campaign. - Tomaz Silva/Agência Brasil
Brazil vaccinated 94.4 percent of children aged between six months to five years as part of the National Campaign for the Vaccination Against Polio this year, which took place from August 15 to 31. Some 12 million children were immunized. The number was slightly below the target set by the Health Ministry—95 percent. Last year, 93.9 percent of the children were immunized against polio.
Data from the ministry reveal that 15 states have met the 95 percent vaccination target: Rio de Janeiro, Pernambuco, Maranhão, Sergipe, Espírito Santo, Paraíba, Amapá, Roraima, Ceará, Santa Catarina, Paraná, Amazonas, Minas Gerais, and Alagoas. Among the states which failed to achieve the goal are Rio Grande do Sul, Rio Grande do Norte, Goiás, Pará, Tocantins, Bahia, São Paulo, Mato Grosso, Acre, Mato Grosso do Sul, Piauí, and the Federal District.
Ever since 1990, no case of polio has been reported in Brazil. A serious infectious condition, polio is caused by the poliovirus, with the infection taking place chiefly through the mouth. In most cases, the child infected shows serious injuries, which affect the nervous system and lead to irreversible paralysis, especially in the legs.
The vaccination scheme against polio includes three doses, administered at the ages of two, four, and six months. Next, the child must be given two booster doses at 15 months of age, and again when the child turns four years old. After that, yearly doses are administered once a year until the age of five. From 2014 to 2015, cases of the illness were reported in nine countries, in Africa and Asia.
Translated by Fabrício Ferreira
Fonte: In Brazil, 94.4% of children up to five have been immunized against polio
