THE USE OF AFRICAN COMMUNICATION SYSTEM IN POLIO ERADICATION CAMPAIGN

CHAPTER ONE

1.0     Introduction

Communication, we know, does not exist in a vacuum. It is part of a total life environment, it is conditioned by a country's economy, technological infrastructure, politics, socio-cultural traditions and goals, and its basic vision of society, or ideology. All this affects the media in a direct way. They, in turn, can have some effect on these conditions, at least by creating awareness. In addition, conditions are changing, often fast, and, alas, not always for the better.

This article attempts to sketch a very broad overview of the problems and prospects of African communication. The observations made in it are based on practical experience, and, in part, on reports about communication in Africa. But they are in no way complete. Rather, they want to identify certain trends which seem to be emerging. Conclusions which can be drawn from them are, therefore, necessarily provisional and tentative.

1.1     Background of the Study

Poliomyelitis, often called polio or infantile paralysis, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. In about 0.5% of cases there is muscle weakness resulting in an inability to move.[1] This can occur over a few hours to few days.[1][2] The weakness most often involves the legs but may less commonly involve the muscles of the head, neck and diaphragm. Many but not all people fully recover. In those with muscle weakness about 2% to 5% of children and 15% to 30% of adults die.[Atkinson W, Hamborsky J, 2009] Another 25% of people have minor symptoms such as fever and a sore throat and up to 5% have headache, neck stiffness and pains in the arms and legs.[ Wolfe S, eds. (2009)]These people are usually back to normal within one or two weeks. In up to 70% of infections there are no symptoms.[1] Years after recovery post-polio syndrome may occur, with a slow development of muscle weakness similar to that which the person had during the initial infection.[NIH. April 16, 2014]

Poliovirus is usually spread from person to person through infected fecal matter entering the mouth.[Atkinson W, Hamborsky J] It may also be spread by food or water containing human feces and less commonly from infected saliva.[1][2] Those who are infected may spread the disease for up to six weeks even if no symptoms are present. The disease may be diagnosed by finding the virus in the feces or detecting antibodies against it in the blood. The disease only occurs naturally in humans.[Atkinson W, Hamborsky J, 2009]

The disease is preventable with the polio vaccine; however, a number of doses are required for it to be effective.[who.int. October 2014] The United States Center for Disease Control recommends polio vaccination boosters for travelers and those who live in countries where the disease is occurring.[4] Once infected there is no specific treatment.[2] In 2015 polio affected less than 100 people down from 350,000 cases in 1988.[World Health Organisation. 2016-01-06][WHO.INT. October 2014] In 2014 the disease was only spreading between people in Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan.[Poliomyelitis Fact sheet] In 2015 Nigeria had stopped the spread of wild poliovirus.[www.who.int. Retrieved 2015-09-28]

Poliomyelitis has existed for thousands of years, with depictions of the disease in ancient art.[ Wolfe S, eds. (2009)] The disease was first recognized as a distinct condition by Michael Underwood in 1789[1] and the virus that causes it was first identified in 1908 by Karl Landsteiner. [Daniel, Thomas M.; Robbins, Frederick C., eds. (1999)] Major outbreaks started to occur in the late 19th century in Europe and the United States. In the 20th century it became one of the most worrying childhood diseases in these areas.[Wheeler, Derek S.; Wong, Hector R. (2009)] The first polio vaccine was developed in the 1950s by Jonas Salk.[Aylward R (2006)] It is hoped that vaccination efforts and early detection of cases will result in global eradication of the disease by 2018.[WHO].

Polio can strike at any age, but it mainly affects children under five years old.

Polio is spread through person-to-person contact. When a child is infected with wild poliovirus, the virus enters the body through the mouth and multiplies in the intestine. It is then shed into the environment through the faeces where it can spread rapidly through a community, especially in situations of poor hygiene and sanitation. If a sufficient number of children are fully immunized against polio, the virus is unable to find susceptible children to infect, and dies out.

Young children who are not yet toilet-trained are a ready source of transmission, regardless of their environment. Polio can be spread when food or drink is contaminated by faeces. There is also evidence that flies can passively transfer poliovirus from faeces to food.

Most people infected with the poliovirus have no signs of illness and are never aware they have been infected. These symptomless people carry the virus in their intestines and can “silently” spread the infection to thousands of others before the first case of polio paralysis emerges.

For this reason, WHO considers a single confirmed case of polio paralysis to be evidence of an epidemic – particularly in countries where very few cases occur.

Poliomyelitis is highly contagious via the fecal-oral (intestinal source) and the oral-oral (oropharyngeal source) routes.[Gourville E, Dowdle W, Pallansch M (2005)] In endemic areas, wild polioviruses can infect virtually the entire human population.[Parker SP, ed. (1998)] It is seasonal in temperate climates, with peak transmission occurring in summer and autumn.[Dowdle W, Pallansch M (2005)] These seasonal differences are far less pronounced in tropical areas.[Parker SP, ed. (1998)] The time between first exposure and first symptoms, known as the incubation period, is usually 6 to 20 days, with a maximum range of three to 35 days.[Racaniello V (2006)] Virus particles are excreted in the feces for several weeks following initial infection.[Racaniello V (2006)] The disease is transmitted primarily via the fecal-oral route, by ingesting contaminated food or water. It is occasionally transmitted via the oral-oral route, a mode especially visible in areas with good sanitation and hygiene.[Gourville E, Dowdle W, Pallansch M (2005)] Polio is most infectious between seven and 10 days before and after the appearance of symptoms, but transmission is possible as long as the virus remains in the saliva or feces.[Ohri, Linda K.; Jonathan G. Marquess (1999)]

Factors that increase the risk of polio infection or affect the severity of the disease include immune deficiency,[Price D, Butler I, Vickers J (1977)] malnutrition,[Chandra R (14 June 1975)] physical activity immediately following the onset of paralysis,[Horstmann D (1950)] skeletal muscle injury due to injection of vaccines or therapeutic agents,[Gromeier M, Wimmer E (1998)] and pregnancy.[Evans C (1960)] Although the virus can cross the maternal-fetal barrier during pregnancy, the fetus does not appear to be affected by either maternal infection or polio vaccination.[Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation] Maternal antibodies also cross the placenta, providing passive immunity that protects the infant from polio infection during the first few months of life.[Groh A, Bischoff A, Prager J, Wutzler P (2002)]

1.2     Statement of Research

Polio is a disease that hit the African country, and it’s still ravishing the our children most especially, this disease has a cure or its prevention, yet it is still killing our young ones and children out of the community ignorance to some certain information, as said by Okeke Abina (2002) that “information is wealth”, therefore, due to lack of adequate information reaching the hands of the target, it can results to lose of lives. The researcher has discovered that due to lack of communication channel and flow polio disease has remain with us here in Nigeria and has continue to spread to every citizens within the locality.