Rotary has been working to eradicate polio for more than 35 years, and we’ve made incredible progress in the fight to rid the world of it forever. Rotary, as a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, we've helped to reduced polio cases by more than 99.9 percent. It’s crucial to eradicate polio from the last two countries (Afghanistan and Pakistan) where it remains endemic and to keep other countries polio-free. If all eradication efforts stopped today, within 10 years, polio could paralyze as many as 200,000 children each year. Vaccines work! Look how far we have come since starting global vaccination programs.
Those who had polio may suffer from Post Polio Syndrome. Post-polio syndrome (PPS) is a condition that affects polio survivors many years (15-40) after recovery from an initial attack of the poliomyelitis virus. PPS is characterized by a further weakening of muscles that were previously affected by the polio infection. PPS is not contagious. The most common symptoms include:
- slowly progressive muscle weakness
- fatigue (both general and muscular)
- decrease in muscle size (muscular atrophy)
- loss of muscle function
- pain from joint deterioration and increasing skeletal deformities such as curvature of the spine (scoliosis)
Some individuals experience only minor symptoms, while others develop more visible muscle weakness and atrophy. PPS is rarely life-threatening but the symptoms can interfere significantly with the individual's capacity to function independently.
We must continue the momentum to stop this disease. Rotary does an annual fundraiser call "the Purple Pinkie" run. This year the run will be held Oct