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Worldwide polio eradication moving closer to reality
Experts predict polio will disappear within the next few years.
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VIENNA — WHO polio eradication programs have helped make major strides toward complete worldwide eradication of the disease.
David L. Heymann, MD, assistant director-general for communicable diseases at WHO, spoke about WHO polio eradication efforts at the 2007 International Meeting on Emerging Diseases and Surveillance, held here in February. “We can eradicate this disease,” Heymann said. “We believe polio will disappear within the next few years.”
Heymann said the fight against polio is an example of how governments and heath organizations throughout the world can work together to achieve significant benefits for public health. The tactics used in the fight polio may serve as an example to help eradicate other diseases in the future.
Eradication is feasible
Heymann said worldwide polio eradication within the next few years is not merely wishful thinking; it is feasible. “Polio eradication is possible because there is no reservoir of polio in nature, and there is an easy way to administer an effective vaccine,” Heymann said. “The feasibility of eradication had already been proven in industrialized countries before the WHO eradication program began. Most countries in Europe and North America had eradicated polio by 1990.”
By the late-1980s, there was a significant difference in eradication efforts between industrialized nations and developing nations. In 1988, it was estimated that there were 1,000 children being paralyzed each day because of polio in 125 countries throughout the world. The majority of these cases were occurring in developing nations; a lack of access to polio vaccines was a major contributing factor. “The reason these countries still had polio was that they did not have access to the vaccine or did not have the systems to deliver vaccines to children who lived in the rural areas,” Heymann said.
WHO’s polio eradication program was launched in 1988. At that time, WHO set a goal to eradicate polio by 2000. When WHO eradication efforts were launched, a resolution was drafted emphasizing that polio eradication should be pursued in ways that expanded routine immunization programs that were already in place in countries throughout the world.
Significant reductions in polio rates were seen by the beginning of this century. According to Heymann, in 2003, fewer than 1,000 children per year were paralyzed by polio. Today, there are only four countries where polio still exists: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan.
The government of India has made polio eradication a priority; it has provided funding to thousands of new doctors and health care workers and is supporting monthly immunization campaigns. In some parts of India, 99% of children are vaccinated against polio.
Heymann said that although polio eradication is now within reach, health officials must act accordingly to prevent further outbreaks before eradication is finalized. “As long as wild polio virus exists, all countries remain at risk,” Heymann said. “We must complete polio eradication while the window of opportunity remains open.” – by Jay Lewis
For more information:
- Heymann D. Polio eradication: Finishing the job, guaranteeing the investment. Presented at: The 2007 International Meeting on Emerging Diseases and Surveillance; Feb. 23-25, 2007; Vienna.