Student’s Reflection: Does Polio have a Sibling?

A new polio-like disease hits 25 children in California, paralyzing limbs — leaving experts in confusion. It has been confirmed that it is another unknown virus.  Polio had been eradicated in the U.S. in 1979; the polio vaccine has saved the children in the United States ever since it was created in 1955. 

The first-known victim of this virus is a four-year-old girl, Sofia, who has her left arm paralyzed. Apparently, she had been affected with respiratory issues and was diagnosed for asthma two years before; but shortly after being discharged from hospital, her left arm was completely paralyzed. 24 more children have been affected after Sofia’s case and a cure is still to be made as the virus is still being studied and identified by epidemiologists. 

The symptoms of this disease are slow movement of limbs in young children, which is the age group the virus is likely to attack on. The only countries that have yet to accomplish the task of eradicating polio are: Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria. 

As Franklin D. Roosevelt rightly said, “The only thing to fear is fear itself”: We should not fear of what may or may not encounter us or our beloved ones. If you come across a child exhibiting the symptoms of this disease, take action. Save a life by simply getting him or her diagnosed.

Shreya Kollipara – Grade VI A

(Diseases and Disorders, PYP Exhibition)