Editors Of Canadian Medical Association Journal Warn Polio Outbreak In Tajikistan Could Spread

Kaiser Report "A large polio outbreak in Tajikistan – Europe's first in years – has the potential to further spread the dangerous virus to other regions of the world, the [editors of] the Canadian Medical Association Journal [CMAJ] warned Wednesday" in an editorial appearing in the journal, the Canadian Press reports.

---

The CMAJ editors "suggested the outbreak, the largest since 2005 in a country where polio is not endemic, serves as a reminder that until polio is eradicated, the risk of renewed spread remains," the news service adds (Branswell, 6/23). "There is no cure for polio, which can cause paralysis in a small percentage of infected children and adults," the Globe and Mail writes. "But the disease is entirely preventable through vaccination, which has helped eliminate it from many countries around the world," the newspaper reports (Weeks, 6/23). More...

---