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Why is it difficult to eradicate polio with vaccine?
This is due to hard-to-reach areas of instability, unrest and fundamentalism in Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan where it’s a struggle to achieve the high vaccination coverage required to eliminate the disease. Health workers in these areas risk their lives to conduct vaccination programmes amid hostile communities.
Why Polio eradication is important?
Success in eradicating polio will mean that no child will have to experience the devastating effects of the disease again. Failure to eradicate polio could cause poliovirus to reappear around the world with up to 200,000 new cases expected every year within 10 years.
Can polio be reversed?
There is no treatment to reverse the paralysis of polio. Some people who’ve had polio develop post-polio syndrome (PPS) years later. Symptoms include tiredness, new muscle weakness, and muscle and joint pain. There is no way to prevent or cure PPS.
Was the polio vaccine discontinued?
OPV was recommended for use in the United States for almost 40 years, from 1963 until 2000. The results have been miraculous: Polio was eliminated from the United States in 1979 and from the Western Hemisphere in 1991.
Is eradication of polio possible?
Failure to eradicate polio could result in as many as 200 000 new cases every year, within 10 years, all over the world. There is no cure for polio, it can only be prevented. Polio vaccine, given multiple times, can protect a child for life.
How did polio get eradicated?
Thanks to the polio vaccine, dedicated health care professionals, and parents who vaccinate their children on schedule, polio has been eliminated in this country for more than 30 years. This means that there is no year-round transmission of poliovirus in the United States.
How do vaccines get rid of polio?
Strengthening routine immunization is a pillar of the polio eradication strategy. High routine immunization coverage establishes a strong base for population immunity to prevent polio outbreaks and builds a sustainable platform to introduce the Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) and deliver other lifesaving vaccines.