Caribbean countries are being urged to take immediate action to increase polio vaccination coverage to 95 per cent as the world observers World Polio Day, today.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) made the call amid reports that coverage in many countries of the Americas is below recommended levels.

“The Americas have remained free from cases of wild poliovirus for 27 years, with the last case detected on August 23, 1991, in Peru. The countries of the region were able to eliminate polio by achieving high rates of vaccination coverage of children and through sustained epidemiological surveillance to ensure early detection of any outbreaks,” PAHO said.

But Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, the PAHO Assistant Director, said while region is polio free “as long as even one case of polio exists in any part of the world, we are still at risk.”

“By achieving and maintaining high vaccination coverage and by strengthening epidemiological surveillance, we can make the dream of a polio free future for the world, a reality,” he said.

PAHO said recent reports, however, show that countries are not maintaining the 95 per cent vaccination coverage rate required at all levels to prevent polio transmission.

“This means that some communities are at risk of being unable to prevent an outbreak should an imported case occur or if there is an emergence of vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV),” it said.

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