BEIJING, May 7 (Xinhua) According to foreign media reports on the 6th, the World Health Organization recently announced that polio has spread to several fragile countries, constituting a global public health emergency. This is the second time that the organization has issued an emergency announcement since relevant regulations in 2007 allowed such initiatives.

After 25 years of vaccinating billions of children, the paralytic virus was nearly eradicated two years ago. Now, health officials say this goal may fall short if immediate action is not taken.

The WHO said that Pakistan, Syria and Cameroon had recently spread the virus to Afghanistan, Iraq and Equatorial Guinea respectively, and they should take special measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

"The situation is going in the wrong direction, and we must get back on track before something bad happens," said WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl. "Therefore, we want to tell the Pakistanis, Syrians and Cameroonians, 'You really need to act.'"

"This is a fundamental change in the project," said Dr. Bruce Elward, head of the WHO polio eradication project. "Countries around the world have signaled that they will no longer allow countries that have not eradicated the virus to spread the virus."

Although the number of known cases this year is relatively small - as of April 30, there were 68 cases, while 24 cases were found in the same period last year, WHO still declared a state of emergency.

Hartl said that what most worried experts was that the virus was still spreading in the off-season from January to April.

Rebecca M. Martin, head of global immunization affairs at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, "We do not want the virus to spread to countries such as the Central African Republic, South Sudan or Ukraine." Since the project was launched in 1988, the center has been providing funding and professional assistance for eradication projects.

Resistance to the virus usually requires several rounds of vaccination for all children in the target country. However, the agency has taken an unusual initiative, saying that residents of all ages in Pakistan, Syria and Cameroon should be vaccinated before traveling abroad. This restrictive initiative should be kept until the last "transnational transmission case" appears one year later.

The organization also said that the other seven countries should "encourage" residents who may travel to vaccinate. These seven countries include Afghanistan, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Israel, Nigeria and Somalia.

There is no confirmed case of human infection in Israel, but relevant personnel have detected a polio virus from Pakistan in sewage in Tel Aviv and other places.

Although WHO has no law enforcement authority, these provisions are part of the global health treaty published in 2007, which stipulates that all parties "should ensure" the implementation of recommended initiatives. The above provisions apply to Pakistan, Syria and Cameroon. The other seven need only "encourage" such initiatives.

However, countries can rely on this document to refuse to allow immigrants, tourists or business travelers who do not have vaccination certificates to enter the country.

Polio is a highly infectious virus transmitted through feces. Although the probability of causing symptoms by the virus is only one in two hundred, patients with severe disease may be paralyzed or die. Since many people do not know that they carry the virus, a confirmed case will be considered as a serious outbreak. There is no cure for the disease.

Unlike influenza or other winter viruses, polio is widely spread in hot climates. The number of cases began to increase in summer, usually when the monsoon rains eliminated the summer heat, and the virus spread in the sewage filled drainage ditch. The sewage washed the feet of children who played noisily. They touched the feet or balls, and then put their fingers in their mouths, thus infecting the virus.

Although the disease mainly affects children, there is growing evidence that it can also spread to other countries through adult carriers, such as businessmen, smugglers and migrant workers.