Poliomyelitis

Poliomyelitis ("polio"), or infantile paralysis, is a viral paralytic disease. The causative agent, a virus called poliovirus (PV), enters the body orally, infecting the intestinal lining. It may proceed to the blood stream and into the central nervous system causing muscle weakness and often paralysis.

Social impact

In Benin, where some families reject vaccination on religious grounds, polio victims are informally tolerated to smuggle petrol from neighbouring Nigeria.

Related Topics:
Benin - Smuggle - Petrol

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The polio survivors ride their motor tricycles to the border, with the company of a mechanic that takes care of the machine and the rider.

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In Nigeria, they fill whatever receptacles they can carry and ride back.

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In spite of the illegality of the trade and the safety risk of moving around petrol in bottles, they are tolerated by the customs officers and the Beninese society.

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The polio victims have in their daily trips (one or two) a means of life with more dignity than begging, and that involves them in the community life instead of being outcasts.

Related Topics:
Begging - Outcast

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