This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
CDC recognizes ‘unsung heroes’ on World Polio Day
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
When the Global Polio Eradication Initiative was launched in 1988, there were approximately 350,000 cases of polio in 125 countries, according to the CDC. Since then, more than 99% of cases have been reduced worldwide. So far, this year, only 12 cases were reported in Afghanistan and Pakistan — two of three remaining countries in which the disease is endemic.
The CDC attributes this progress to “unsung heroes,” including vaccinators, community volunteers, front-line health care workers, surveillance and laboratory staff, and civil society. Today on World Polio Day, held annually on Oct. 24, the CDC is acknowledging those who are working to eradicate the disease.
“Thanks to the work of unsung heroes, more than 500,000 deaths and more than 10 million cases of paralysis have been prevented since 1988,” a CDC press release said. “Without these heroes, within a decade we risk a resurgence of polio that could paralyze more than 200,000 children worldwide each year.”
To mark the occasion of World Polio Day, Infectious Disease News has compiled a list of the top five stories on polio over the past year:
On the brink of eradication: Polio over 30 years
Infectious Disease News spoke to Walter A. Orenstein, MD, professor and director of the Influenza Pathogenesis & Immunology Research Center at Emory University School of Medicine, and other experts about progress in polio eradication over the past 3 decades and the importance of maintaining vaccination and surveillance efforts. Read more.
Fractional-dose IPV noninferior to full-dose IPV
Researchers in Cuba reported similar immune responses in recipients administered with fractional-dose inactivated poliovirus vaccine compared with the full-dose formulation, suggesting a fractional dose is more cost-effective and better for outbreak control. Read more.
Global prevalence of poliovirus type 2 declines after switch to bivalent vaccine
Since the global switch from the trivalent oral polio vaccine to the bivalent oral polio vaccine, fewer countries have detected poliovirus type 2 in patient and environmental samples. Read more.
WHO reports record-low number of polio cases in Pakistan
Cases of wild poliovirus hit a record-low in Pakistan last year, according to WHO.
The world health agency reported 19 confirmed cases of wild poliovirus type 1 in Pakistan in 2016 — down from 51 in 2015 and the fewest ever recorded in the country. Read more.
UNICEF, WHO vaccinate over 355,000 children against polio in Syria
An outbreak of vaccine-derived polio in Syria prompted UNICEF and WHO to launch a polio vaccination campaign in August. Read more.