BANGKOK,
26 April 2016 (NNT) - The Ministry of
Public Health has burnt 1.2 million doses of type-2 poliovirus vaccines and
pledged to burn all of the vaccines nationwide by 28 April 2016 before new
poliovirus vaccines are used.
According
to the ministry, polio is a severe infectious disease caused by poliovirus type
1, 2 and 3. In the past, there were many hundreds of thousands of polio
patients worldwide each year but last year, there were only two polio-affected
countries—Afghanistan and Pakistan. As for Thailand, the last polio patient was
found in April 1997 and the country remained free from the disease until now.
Since
poliovirus type 2 has been eradicated worldwide, there is no need for type-2
poliovirus vaccines. New poliovirus vaccines will be used in Thailand from 29
April onwards.
The World
Health Organization has set a time frame for each country to destroy type-2
poliovirus vaccines without contaminating the environment.
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