MIKE HEDGES MS CELBRATES WORLD POLIO DAY

MIKE HEDGES MS CELBRATES WORLD POLIO DAY

Speaking from his Morriston office, local Swansea East MS, Mike Hedges said… ‘when I was young, everyone knew someone affected by polio and we all heard tales of people taken to the long stay hospitals where treatments like ‘Iron Lungs’ were used. Thankfully, due to vaccination programs, Polio is now a thing of the past.

I thank all the people who work in the Health service who oversee the Polio Vaccine program.

I urge everyone to ensure that they are up to date with their vaccines. They work; Polio eradication is evidence of this!

Note

Today is World Polio Day, and this year it  mark a momentous achievement – 20 years of keeping the European Region free from indigenous wild polio, since the Region was declared polio-free in 2002.

This is truly a success to celebrate.

Back in 1980, there were almost 2700 confirmed cases of polio in the countries of the European Region, and 18 years later the Region’s last case of indigenous wild polio was reported in Turkey

Thankfully, owing to vaccination, polio is on the verge of becoming a story of the past. Globally, polio cases have fallen by 99% since the 1980s. We stand on the cusp of eradicating polio, which would make it only the second disease after smallpox to be consigned to history.