The cause of a serious epidemic of
poliomyelitis that struck the Republic of the Congo in 2010 has been
identified. It is a vaccine-resistant strain of polio that IRD
researchers and their partners just discovered.
The epidemic affected 445 people in the city of Pointe-Noire, the economic capital of the country, killing almost half of them. The new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , explains this surprising mortality rate, even though the disease has almost been eradicated around the world. The researchers fear the emergence of other strains against which vaccines would have little effect.
The epidemic affected 445 people in the city of Pointe-Noire, the economic capital of the country, killing almost half of them. The new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , explains this surprising mortality rate, even though the disease has almost been eradicated around the world. The researchers fear the emergence of other strains against which vaccines would have little effect.
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