VENEZUELA — A young child is reportedly afflicted with polio in Venezuela — the first reported case of the crippling disease since it's eradication in the country in 1989.<br /><br />The Telegraph reports that according to the Pan-American Health Organization, the child lived in an impoverished indigenous community in the Delta Amacuro state.<br /><br />According to the CDC, poliomyelitis, or polio, is caused by the poliovirus, which enters through the mouth via contact with contaminated feces, or through droplets from a cough or sneeze.<br /><br />The virus multiplies in small intestine, before being carried through the bloodstream to the central nervous system, where it destroys motor neuron cells.<br /><br />The majority of infected don't get sick, while one in four develop non-paralytic polio with flu-like symptoms. Paralytic polio, though rare, can lead to muscle pain, paralysis, and even death.<br /><br />In some cases, those who contracted and fully recovered from the disease as kids can develop symptoms years later as adults.<br /><br />Young children, especially those who are malnourished an unvaccinated, are especially susceptible to polio. The disease has no cure, but is preventable through immunization.<br /><br />Venezuela has been plagued with economic and political crises in recent years. Local health authorities who were supposed to report cases of polio within 24 hours, took more than a month to do so.
