At One Of The Brazilian Airports [discovered The Polio Virus]

2023 Author: Abraham Higgins | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 23:16

At one of the Brazilian airports [discovered the polio virus]

The polio virus was detected in the wastewater of the international airport in Brazil, where the World Cup is currently taking place, but no human cases have been recorded, the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday.

Poliovirus under the magnification of an electron microscope. Photo from historyofvaccines.org /

The polio virus was detected in the wastewater of the international airport in Brazil, where the World Cup is currently taking place, but no human cases have been recorded, the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday.

Poliovirus infects the human nervous system, which can lead to permanent paralysis in just a few hours. The virus is transmitted by the faecal-oral route or through contaminated water and food and mainly affects children under the age of five. There is currently no targeted therapy for poliomyelitis, but the disease can be prevented by vaccination.

Brazil has not reported a single case since 1989, according to the WHO, and in 1991, South and North America was declared a wild polio virus-free zone.

Poliovius has now been found in wastewater samples collected this March from Viracopos International Airport near São Paulo. As shown by genetic analysis, the isolated strain of the virus is genetically close to the virus recently recorded in Equatorial Guinea, the level of the spread of which is assessed as high.

According to a spokesman for the Brazilian Ministry of Health, it was to be expected that due to the increase in international tourism, there would be a large number of people carrying the infection. “It is important to note that this does not mean a change in the epidemiological situation in the country,” Reuters quoted from his statement. The United Nations (UN) rated the risk of the spread of the polio virus as “very low”.