Khaberni - In a concerning health development, an old virus has resurfaced, imposing itself again on the medical scene in Germany, sparking a wave of questions about the health system's ability to handle an unexpected emergency. As the circle of concern widens, the whole of Europe is bracing for the possibility of facing an epidemic challenge that calls for higher preparedness and continuous vigilance.
In an unwelcome health surprise, German authorities have confirmed the detection of a strain of the virus that causes polio in sewage samples from Hamburg, after more than three decades since the virus disappeared from the advanced European country.
The German Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases described the emergence of the virus as a "setback" for global efforts to eradicate the disease, although no clinical cases have been recorded so far in Hamburg.
The German authorities have sounded the medical alarm, as they quickly formed a specialized task force and began taking additional samples from multiple sites to verify that the virus is not spreading widely.
