Friday, April 22, 2011

Cuban children will receive vaccines against polio


After the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in January 1st, 1959, one of the main achivements of the public health system has been the implementation of vaccination campaigns in the island to prevent contagious diseases among the population.

Starting this Friday, more than half a million Cuban children will receive vaccines for the 50th campaign against polio.

The program will last until April, when children under three years old vaccinated last March will receive another dose (two drops orally), while nine-year-old children will receive a re-activation dose.

Poliomyelitis is a highly contagious viral and infectious disease that affects the central nervous system causing permanent paralysis and even death, mainly in children between five and ten years old.

Before the Triumph of the Revolution, Cuba registered an average rate of 300 cases annually.

The country began massive annual campaigns in 1962, and up to the present day the Cuban doctors have applied more than 79 million doses of this vaccine; therefore, the Cuban population under 62 years old is protected against this disease.

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