Brazil minister: Americas face delicate moment as polio threat looms

Brazil’s Heath Minister Marcelo Queiroga said the Americas are facing a delicate moment due to the threat of the return of poliomyelitis to the region. Speaking at the 30th Pan American Sanitary Conference on Monday (Sep 26), he advocated the promotion of sensitive epidemiological surveillance, which allows the detection and investigation of all cases of acute flaccid paralysis, a condition associated with polio.

“The inclusion of polio eradication on the agenda at the 30th Pan American Sanitary Conference is crucial for us to leverage immediate communication actions on existing risks as well as to coordinate efforts,” he said, reinforcing the need to develop an updated outbreak response plan as per the procedures outlined by the World Health Organization.

“We need to expand vaccination coverage and strengthen our surveillance systems in order to avoid the risk of a reintroduction of this immuno-preventable disease in our region. We need to act now. We need to act together,” he concluded.

Campaign in Brazil

Brazil’s campaign against polio is ongoing countrywide and should end next Friday (30). The initiative had been extended due to its low response. Doses are available at over 40 thousand vaccination points. The goal is to immunize 95 percent of the target audience—14.3 million children under five years.