MOSCOW, May 27 (Itar-Tass) - A total of 93.1 percent of children in the Russian North Caucasian republics have been inoculated against poliomyelitis in the second round of additional inoculation campaign, Russia’s chief sanitary doctor and head of the federal consumer rights protection authority Gennady Onishchenko told Itar-Tass on Monday.
“The second round started on May 20 and embraces children aged from 1 to 3. In all, it is planned to vaccinate 235,055 children,” he said. “Over four days, as many as 218,950 children, or 93.1 percent, have been inoculated. This is a good result.”
“A total of 96.4 percent of children have been inoculated in the republic of Dagestan, a total of 94.4 percent - in the republic of North Ossetia, a total of 90 percent in Chechnya, as many as 99.3 percent - in the republic of Karachayevo-Cherkessia, some 86 percent - in the republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, and a total of 88 percent - in Ingushetia,” he noted.
According to Onishchenko, additional vaccination campaigns have been conducted since 2010 over poliomyelitis spread from Tajikistan.
Poliomyelitis is a disease caused by infection with the poliovirus. The virus spreads by direct person-to-person contact, contact with infected mucus or phlegm from the nose or mouth, or through contact with infected feces. The time from being infected with the virus to developing symptoms of disease (incubation) ranges from five to 35 days (average seven to 14 days). Although approximately 90% of polio infections cause no symptoms, affected individuals can exhibit a range of symptoms if the virus enters the blood stream. In about 1% of cases, the virus enters the central nervous system, preferentially infecting and destroying motor neurons, leading to muscle weakness and acute flaccid paralysis.