Health Days 2011

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World Polio Day

Are you aware that more than 10 million children could be paralyzed in the next 40 years if the world fails to work on its eradication? Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus. It invades the nervous system, and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours. The virus enters the body through the mouth and multiplies in the intestine. Initial symptoms are fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness in the neck and pain in the limbs. One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis (usually in the legs). Among those paralyzed, 5% to 10% die when their breathing muscles become immobilized.

The World Polio Day is commemorated on October 24, 2011, under the theme: (End Polio Now). There is a consensus, among health experts, that polio eradication has to be a top priority on the agendas of governments. It is of crucial importance, too, to allocate the needed money to carry out the strategies devoted to eradicating paralysis.

International Approved Date: 24/10/2011

Regionally Approved Date: 26/11/1432H

Theme of the World Polio Day:

End Polio Now

(We are this Close to Ending Polio)

Targeted Categories:

Children aged 5 years old or less.
Adults.
Medical staff and those who are of interest.
People who have little immunity, or are used to much travel.

Objectives and Mission of the World Polio Day:

The objectives of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative are:

to interrupt transmission of wild poliovirus as soon as possible.
to achieve certification of global polio eradication.
to contribute to health systems development and strengthen routine immunization and surveillance for communicable diseases in a systematic way.

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