NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews

On January 24, 2022, the WHO Regional Reference Laboratory in Helsinki confirmed poliovirus type 2 (VDPV-2) in a sample from a 2-year-old child from Ukraine. The sample from the patient is similar to those that were already identified during the fall in Rivne region.

A boy living with his family in Transcarpathia fell ill with polio. Symptoms of the disease appeared on December 13, 2021 during a hospital stay in Lviv for the treatment of another disease. On December 24, the child already had signs of flaccid lower paraparesis (a neurological syndrome affecting two limbs).

According to the mother, the child was not vaccinated due to the refusal of the parents, and there was no contact with the children who had recently been vaccinated. The child lives alone in the family, has no siblings. The family lives in a separate house, living conditions are satisfactory, water supply is decentralized.

On December 28, 2021, the selected samples were sent to the Center for Public Health for examination in the reference laboratory for the diagnosis of HIV / AIDS, virological and especially dangerous pathogens. A positive result was also confirmed at the WHO laboratory in Helsinki, Finland.

An epidemiological investigation into a possible source of infection is ongoing.

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This is the second confirmed case of type 2 polio in Ukraine.

We will remind, the first case was confirmed at the 17-month-old girl from the Rivne region, the child was also not vaccinated because of refusal of parents.

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A response plan has been approved to prevent the spread of polio in Ukraine . All children under the age of 6 who have missed a vaccination according to the National Preventive Vaccination Calendar must make up for it. For example, if a child is 2, 4, 6 or 18 months old and has not yet been vaccinated, you should consult a family doctor or pediatrician. Vaccines are purchased at public expense, so they are free. Vaccinations can be given in public medical institutions.

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