In 8 months of 2023, 8 cases of poliomyelitis were detected in Kharkiv region: Lyubov Makhota

The other day, a briefing dedicated to World Polio Day was held in Kharkiv Media Hub. The speakers were Lyubov Makhota, director of the State Institution “Kharkiv Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine” and Svitlana Tkachenko, medical director and infectious disease specialist of the Regional Infectious Disease Hospital. They talked about measures to support polio-free status in the Kharkiv region.

So, according to Lyubov Makhota, according to the WHO, about 5% of polio patients die due to damage to the respiratory muscles, and one in two hundred gets a disability due to deformation of the spine and limbs.

– Since 1988, polio rates have fallen by 99% thanks to universal vaccination. At the same time, due to the low level of vaccination coverage, Ukraine still remains on the list of countries where there is a risk of poliomyelitis outbreak, – the speaker noted.

Also during the briefing, the head of the Kharkiv Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention talked about the ways of transmission of the dangerous disease, who is most often affected by the virus, and how to properly vaccinate against poliomyelitis.

Makhota emphasized that there is no antiviral treatment, and nerves and muscles affected by the disease do not recover.

-The only way to avoid polio is to vaccinate yourself and your family! In addition, the speaker emphasized that comprehensive vaccination is important to not lose collective immunity!

In addition, Makhota said that the Kharkiv region has approved a polio outbreak response plan for 2022-2025, ongoing epidemiological surveillance is being carried out, joint monitoring visits are being made to medical facilities, and the circulation of the virus in the external environment is being studied. Preventive work is being carried out among the population. For 8 months of the current year, 8 disease cases were detected in the region.

In turn, the infectious disease specialist of the Regional Infectious Disease Hospital Svitlana Tkachenko talked about various manifestations of the disease, ways of diagnosis, and transmission of the disease.

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