Israel has launched a polio vaccination drive after its first case of the disease in more than three decades, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday, voicing concern turnout may be depressed by public fatigue over the COVID-19 pandemic.
Poliomyelitis, or polio, is a viral disease of the brain and spinal cord that can cause irreversible paralysis. It affects mainly children under the age of five. Israel began vaccinating against it in 1957 and previously logged its last case in 1988.
But since March a girl has been diagnosed with the disease and at least six non-symptomatic cases have been detected in the Jerusalem area, the Health Ministry said. All were unvaccinated. The virus was found in sewage from three other cities, it added.
