Polio
For the endgame in polio to succeed, a coordinated and complex vaccine switch is crucial - Liam Donaldson
image by: Rajkumar RajgariaEnd Polio Now Education Group
Resources
Latest Battle to Wipe Out Polio Begins with Vast Vaccine Switch
For the endgame in polio to succeed, a coordinated and complex vaccine switch is crucial. Until now, many countries have been using a shot that protects against the three types of wild polio virus - type 1, type 2 and type 3 - but type 2 polio transmission has been stopped since 1999, meaning immunizing against it now makes no sense. In rare cases it also poses a risk that the weakened type 2 virus in the vaccine can seep into circulation and cause "vaccine-derived" polio infections.
The Anti-Vaccine Movement Is Forgetting the Polio Epidemic
At a time when a single case of Ebola or enterovirus can start a national panic, it’s hard to remember the sheer scale of the polio epidemic.
The Hidden Threat That Could Prevent Polio’s Global Eradication
Polio could soon be wiped out—but only if scientists can track down the last carriers.
Global Polio Eradication Initiative
Polio is a crippling and potentially fatal infectious disease. There is no cure, but there are safe and effective vaccines. The strategy to eradicate polio is therefore based on preventing infection by immunizing every child until transmission stops and the world is polio-free.
Jonas Salk: Good at Virology, Bad at Economics
He didn’t patent his vaccine, but that doesn’t mean others shouldn’t.
Why OPV cessation?
OPV contains attenuated (weakened) polioviruses. On extremely rare occasions, use of OPV can result in cases of polio due to vaccine-associated paralytic polio (VAPP) and circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPVs). For this reason, the global eradication of polio requires the cessation of all OPV in routine immunization, as soon as possible after the eradication of wild poliovirus (WPV) transmission.
CDC
Children get 4 doses of IPV at these ages: 2 months, 4 months, 6-18 months, and a booster dose at 4-6 years. OPV has not been used in the United States since 2000 but is still used in many parts of the world.
Vaccines.gov
Polio used to be very common in the United States and caused severe illness in thousands of people each year before polio vaccine was introduced in 1955. Most people infected with the polio virus have no symptoms, however for the less than one percent who develop paralysis (cannot move arms or legs) it may result in permanent disability and even death.
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