Only 74 cases of polio were reported worldwide last year according to charity The British Polio Fellowship. The near eradication of the disease is the result of a concerted immunisation campaign across the globe, although approximately 120,000 in the UK, and others across the world, live with the effects of polio and post polio syndrome (PPS), a neurological condition.
Speaking in a statement to mark World Immunization Week (www.who.int/campaigns/immunization-week/2016/en/), the charity's chief executive, Tony Hill, said that greater awareness is still needed to support patients. €Attention must now however move towards post polio syndrome, a late consequence of polio which was not even recognised until the 1990s. This late recognition has stopped PPS getting the attention it requires and so desperately needs.€
Despite having a prevalence at a similar level to Parkinson's disease, just 55 per cent of doctors are familiar with PPS, says the charity. €This lack of awareness is leading to many with PPS not receiving adequate care,€ claims Mr Hill. €It is urgent that while we carry on important immunisation programmes, we do not forget about the after-effects of conditions like polio, and realise that vaccination, and even eradication, is not the end of the road.€
