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Moving forward with eradication of polio
As of 2012, the annual incidence of polio has decreased by more than 99% compared with 1988, according to a report recently published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
“A key component of [the Global Polio Eradication Initiative] is the Stop Transmission of Polio program, which was developed and initiated by CDC with WHO in 1999 to mobilize additional human resources and technical assistance for countries affected by [wild poliovirus] transmission,” researchers wrote.
From 1988 to 2012, the number of countries in which wild poliovirus circulation has never interrupted was reduced to three — Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan.
The Stop Transmission of Polio (STOP) teams are a mix of health professionals, including nurses, physicians, epidemiologists, veterinarians, and information systems and communications specialists. Initial objectives of STOP field assignments included conducting and supporting acute flaccid paralysis surveillance and to plan, monitor and evaluate large-scale supplementary polio immunization campaigns. In 2002, the assignments were expanded to include strengthening routine childhood immunization activities, with further expansions in 2006 and 2011 to include polio program communications and social mobilization at UNICEF country offices and to support the management needs of immunization and eradication teams at country level.
Between January 1999 and June 2013, 1,563 volunteers were identified, trained and deployed for 2,221 STOP assignments in 69 countries. Twenty-three percent of the volunteers were from the United States.
“The [Global Polio Eradication Initiative] partnership will continue the STOP program throughout the period of eradication, certification, and progressive withdrawal of oral poliovirus vaccines, as outlined in the Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan, 2013-2018,” researchers wrote.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
