The Taliban recently announced that they are suspending its polio vaccination campaign in Afghanistan. The announcement was made shortly before the campaign was due to start.
The suspension is temporary, according to the Taliban, and is due to security fears and the fact that women are involved in administering the vaccine.
Poliovirus is a highly infectious virus that mainly affects children under the age of five, but anyone who is unvaccinated can be infected. The virus spreads from person to person mainly through traces of contaminated faeces on people’s hands getting into their mouths or, less commonly, through contaminated food or water.
