Ethiopia reports first polio case of 2014
The first case of wild poliovirus 1 (WPV-1) in Ethiopia for 2014 has been reported in a 25 month old boy, making it the 10th case overall in the country since the beginning of the Horn of Africa outbreak last year, according to an UN Humanitarian Bulletin published yesterday.
Ethiopia map
Image/CIA
It is reported that the child, from Warder woreda, Dollo zone (Somali region), contracted the virus despite receiving seven oral polio vaccine doses.
In 2013, Ethiopia recorded nine WPV-1 cases as part of the Horn of Africa outbreak, which totaled 217 (194 from Somalia, 14 from Kenya and nine from Ethiopia).
Last July, Ethiopia recorded its first polio case since 2008.
Polio is a disease caused by a virus that is mainly spread by person-to-person contact and eating or drinking items contaminated with the feces of an infected person. Polio can also be spread through water, other drinks, and raw or undercooked food.
Most people with polio do not feel sick. Some people have only minor symptoms, such as fever, tiredness, nausea, headache, nasal congestion, sore throat, cough, stiffness in the neck and back, and pain in the arms and legs. Most people recover completely. In rare cases, polio causes permanent loss of muscle function in the arms or legs (usually the legs) or death.
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