New strategy may be last shot to get rid of polio

I recently read the article "New strategy may be last shot to get rid of polio" from USA Today about the attempts at getting rid of polio. According to the article, "experts are unveiling what they describe as a new strategy to get rid of the feared disease." For years the World Health Organization has been trying to wipe out the disease once and for all, but have not had the success they would like. The article states that "Polio has virtually disappeared from the West but is entrenched in a handful of countries, namely Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan." Even though the World Health Organization thinks that they may have a cure, there are many people who think that it is impossible and believe that they should not waste their time trying to eliminate polio. Along with those people who doubt that they will be able to eliminate polio, there are many experts who are very optimistic. Many of the experts believe that they are so close to finding a cure and need to try now while they still have the money and donors willing to help.

I chose to reflect on this article because I think that eliminating polio would be a huge step in the right direction for these countries. I think that since the experts are getting so close to eliminating the disease, they should continue to try while they still have the support. Some of the donors commented how crucial it is to find a cure in the next few years in order for the donations to keep coming. In my opinion, if these experts do not at least try their ideas now when they come up with them, they will never find a cure.

The article also talks about the idea that polio is spread by dirty water. This really ties in to what we are talking about in class because we have recently had discussions about water pollution and poor water quality in Africa. Since Africa continues to have an issue with having dirty water and it looks like it will continue to be a problem, it is so important that children receive the vaccine in order to prevent them from getting polio.

Photo: Man with polio in Nigeria, USA Today.