In early November, messages appeared in Ingush parents' chats that there was an outbreak of polio in the republic and that children's hospitals were overflowing with infected children. On November 6, authorities in Ingushetia acknowledged that several children had been diagnosed with acute flaccid paralysis, which could be a symptom of polio, but emphasized that these were only a few cases. The Ministry of Health assured that "the patients are isolated and are being treated in the infectious diseases departments of medical organizations of the republic."
On November 7, Minister of Health Magomed-Bashir Balaev spoke live and stated that only three children in the entire republic were hospitalized with AFP syndrome.
“Hospital departments are not at all overcrowded, as some write,” the minister said. – Cases of AFP occur not only in our republic, but also in other subjects of the federation. Many write about the need for quarantine. But there is no epidemic in the republic. Getting hysterical is wrong. It is necessary to determine the ways of infection and methods. We need to find out what's what, and act on the recommendations.
Ziyautdin Uvaisov, general director of Patient Monitor, an interregional public organization specializing in legal support for patients, believes that even a few cases are a problem for the republic and their number is likely to grow, because the republic is small and residents communicate a lot and closely :
“Now there are several cases of the disease in Ingushetia and, most likely, the problem will grow. People are worried about this. We [in Dagestan] have very few people vaccinated, and they [in Ingushetia] have the same thing. Anti-vaxxer propaganda works. The state is not used to explaining things to people, they only report that something has been done normally. Now about half of the children in the republics have been vaccinated. This is not only about polio, but about vaccinations in general. Many do not trust them. And those who have vaccination documents are also not the fact that they are vaccinated. They demand statistics from doctors, and they send it. I was recently vaccinated, I received a notification, and then a paper came that I was vaccinated again.
A few people [with symptoms of polio] who have now been identified in Ingushetia is already a lot. The authorities do not want to declare an epidemic. Maybe there will be no more cases. But the republic is small, and the coronavirus also spread very quickly, because people communicate very closely and have many connections. Pakistan also had problems with polio. Polio is more prevalent in poor regions.”
The general practitioner Alexander K., who wished to remain anonymous, told The Insider that the situation with polio in the republic is repeating the same situation as with Covid-19 – the authorities are hiding the problem and denying its scale:
“Outbreaks of poliomyelitis in the republic is not the first time. In 2017, there were cases of polio here, and there were also cases in Chechnya. People are in close contact with each other, and the situation is underestimated. Now the situation is repeating itself, as was the case with COVID, with concealment of the problem and denial of its scale.
Polio has an incubation period of one to 30 days, so there will be many more patients. But the authorities believe that if the problem is not discussed, it will not exist. They understand that if quarantine measures are announced now, it will be an admission of their incompetence. The minister has so far been acting, has just received approval, and such an announcement will lower his credibility. “These people will now disperse across the North Caucasus.”
Magomed-Bashir Balaev was appointed Acting Minister of Health of Ingushetia on May 7, 2019, replacing Marem Arapkhanova. She has headed the ministry since 2013 and submitted her resignation of her own free will.
On June 11, 2019, the new acting Minister of Health was Zarema Lyanova. August 17, acting Rukiyat Torshkhoyeva, the ex-adviser to the head of the republic, became Minister of Health, and Zarema Lyanova was dismissed of her own free will.
On February 4, 2022, Balaev was again appointed Acting Minister of Health of Ingushetia. He replaced Rukiyat Torshkhoyeva in this position, who headed the Ministry of Health since August 2020 – she left her position after a scandal in the perinatal center, where women were mutilated for several years by removing their uterus. Under Balaev, the head of the perinatal center, who was fired, returned to her position.
In parental chats and comments on social networks, residents demand quarantine, but refuse to vaccinate their children. Especially popular is the opinion that unvaccinated children could become infected from vaccinated ones. Doctors say that a vaccine can become a source of infection only if it contains a live virus, and live vaccines are not used at all in Ingushetia. According to the therapist Alexander K., the problem in the republic is not the quality of vaccinations, but the distrust of the inhabitants of the republic towards health workers, misinformation in parental chats and religious superstitions:
“There are vaccinations in the republic, they are of high quality and in good quantity. but informational work was not delivered. Information that it is dangerous to get vaccinated [against polio] is spreading in parent chats, they are breeding grounds for false information. The Ministry of Health in evolutionary terms is significantly inferior to mothers in chat rooms, the work has not been done. Parents are often much more knowledgeable about vaccine prevention than the health workers who do it. They feel that the nursing staff is poorly informed, and all this causes a terrible mistrust. Added to this is a religious component. Fatalism is this: all diseases are from God, no matter what happens, vaccinations only make it worse. When you ask: “If a rabid dog bites you, will you go and get vaccinated?” – “Yes, I’ll go” – “If you step on a rusty nail with your foot, will you go and get vaccinated against tetanus?” – “Yes, I will go” – “Will you go away from poliomyelitis?” – "No, I will not go".
Poliomyelitis is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus. The virus attacks the nervous system and can lead to general paralysis. It is transmitted from person to person, most commonly by the fecal-oral route, or less commonly through contaminated water or food).
The first symptoms of the disease are fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, neck stiffness, and pain in the extremities. In one in 200 cases, the patient may develop irreversible paralysis (often affects the legs). 5-10% of those paralyzed die due to paralysis of the respiratory muscles.
Most often, polio affects children under the age of 5 years. Polio is incurable, but it can be prevented by vaccination. Thanks to vaccination, the number of cases of wild poliovirus has decreased by more than 99% since 1988, from an estimated 350,000 cases to 33 (1) cases reported in 2018.
