‘Never give up’: why the world’s struggle against polio is not over

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Vaccination levels in 2021 fell to their lowest in 15 years and now cases are breaking out in countries thought free of the disease

So far, there is no evidence that the recent cases represent any unchecked spread of the virus, at least in the US, Britain and India, say experts. In Kolkata,all neighbourhoods near where traces of the virus had been found, to ensure no one was potentially infected with polio.

The primary risk factor of any poliovirus – be it wild or vaccine-derived – is low vaccination coverageThe surge in vaccine-derived polio cases has reopened the debate among some experts over the benefits of the two main types of immunisation commonly used against the disease. A child is immunised against polio and diphtheria in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. According to the WHO, each year global immunisation and vaccination programmes prevent two to three million deaths .Drops are easier to administer compared with injections because they don’t require qualified medical professionals, says Jay Wenger, director of the polio team at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Indonesia, using a combination of the OPV and IPV vaccines, could be particularly vulnerable, suggests Azizatunnisa’. The country’s polio vaccination rates plummeted to 68% in 2021, according to the WHO and Unicef. India too relies for the most part on the OPV, though vaccination rates have not fallen below 80%.

 

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