Creative polio" exhibition at the Chemnitz health authority
Opening on Wednesday, 11 February, 3 p.m. in the Health Department 1st floor
The travelling exhibition of the regional association "Poliomyelitis" Thuringia shows works of art created by polio sufferers. From 12 February to 8 May 2015, around 50 works from the exhibition will be on display at the Chemnitz Health Department.
Information on polio:
Poliomyelitis (polio for short) is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by viruses (polioviruses) and transmitted by smear infection.
From 1959 to 1998, the oral vaccination (a live vaccine) against polio (poliomyelitis) was carried out in Germany. Since 1998, this has been replaced by an inactivated polio vaccine, which is injected. Polio has been eradicated in Germany since 1990 thanks to vaccine prophylaxis. However, the disease still exists in Africa (Nigeria) and Asia (India, Pakistan and Afghanistan). Unvaccinated travellers can become infected there and bring the disease to Europe. In order to prevent a renewed outbreak in Germany, the Robert Koch Institute strongly recommends that all suspected cases and cases of illness be reported to the highest health authority of the relevant federal state and the Robert Koch Institute.
The first polio vaccination should be given from the age of two months according to the vaccination recommendation of the Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO). Basic immunisation usually comprises three doses in the first year of life and a further dose at the beginning of the second year. A booster immunisation should be carried out between the ages of nine and seventeen. A routine booster vaccination against polio in adults is usually carried out every 10 years with a combination booster against tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough. The statutory health insurance funds reimburse the costs of the vaccination.