October 7, 2022

18:10

Karol Rocha – Amazon Agency

MANAUS – The Ministry of Health said, in the late afternoon of Thursday, 6, that investigates a case of Acute Flaccid Paralysis in Pará. The information was given after the statement of the Secretariat of Public Health of Pará (Sespa) about the risk for detection of the polio virus in the state. The patient is a 3-year-old child, resident of Santo Antônio do Tauá, in northeastern Pará, who tested positive for poliovirus (Sabin Like 3), through the methodology of viral isolation in feces.

Also according to the Ministry of Health, the case may be related to an adverse event caused by inadequate vaccination. Therefore, the viral circulation of polio in Brazil was discarded by the office.

According to pediatrician Rossiclei Pinheiro, Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) is understood as a clinical manifestation characterized by weakness or paralysis of the limbs, especially the lower ones, as a result of disease or trauma that affects the muscles.

“Acute flaccid paralysis is the clinical syndrome and polio is the disease. Flaccid paralysis can be caused by other viruses”, she said. The doctor also pointed out that the network should pay attention to detect cases of Acute Flaccid Paralysis in children under 15 years old.

“It is important to clarify that after vaccination with the oral polio vaccine (OPV), an attenuated virus of serotypes 1 and 3, it is expected that the child excretes the virus in their feces. Thus, when proceeding with the viral isolation, from the stool sample collected from a recently vaccinated child, it is expected the detection of the vaccine virus (Sabin) types 1 and 3, vaccine currently used in the Brazilian territory”, said the doctor who also said that the poliovirus identified does not change the epidemiological scenario in the national territory.

The infectious disease physician Ana Galdina also made a brief assessment about the case. “From what I understand, this child is in clinical condition of Acute Flaccid Paralysis and that they will still investigate the causative agent of this. But that they have already ruled out that it is the polio virus. Other viruses can also cause Acute Flaccid Paralysis”.

See complete note from the Ministry of Health:

The Ministry of Health informs that there is no record of poliomyelitis viral circulation in Brazil.

The office sent a team to the state of Pará on Thursday, 6, to investigate a case of Acute Flaccid Paralysis. According to information sent by the state health department, the case may be related to an adverse event caused by inadequate vaccination. It is important to emphasize that this is not polio. The Ministry of Health reinforces that parents and guardians should vaccinate their children with all the doses indicated to keep the country protected against polio, a disease eradicated in Brazil.

See full note from the Pará State Department of Health (Sespa)

The Pará State Department of Health (Sespa) informs that there is no record of polio virus circulation in Pará. The Secretariat is investigating a case of acute flaccid paralysis that may be related to an adverse event caused by inadequate and incomplete vaccination in a 3-year-old child from Santo Antônio do Tauá, northeast Pará. Other diagnoses are still under investigation and the child is receiving full assistance. Sespa points out that the case does not change the previous epidemiological scenario and Brazil continues with the certification of eradication of the disease and emphasizes the importance of keeping the vaccination schedule updated for protection against the virus.

Amazonas

In Amazonas, the Health Surveillance Foundation Dr. Rosemary Costa Pinto (FVS-RCP) clarified, in a note, that in the state there has been no reported case of poliomyelitis since 1988. 

The FVS-RCP added, still, that is in the preparation phase of the State Plan to Combat Poliomyelitis for defining strategies for monitoring and investigation of suspected cases of Acute Flaccid Paralysis – AFP, and to advance in vaccination coverage against the disease, since poliomyelitis is immunopreventable, ie a disease that can be prevented by vaccination.

In the national immunization campaign, which ended last Friday, the 30th, Amazonas reached 58.8% vaccination coverage against polio. The goal set by the Ministry of Health, to reach 95% of the target audience, which are children aged 1 to 4 years, was not reached due to the low adherence of parents and guardians to the initiative.

“Those who have their children do attend the vaccination. It is necessary that parents are aware that the child will only stay healthy through the vaccine”, concluded Galdina.