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Polio is 99% eradicated - and together we can bring an end to the virus for good. Join our vaccine journey and help us end polio for EVERY child.

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Polio is on its last legs.

The disease that once paralyzed hundreds of thousands of kids a year around the globe is now down to just a few dozen cases this year. “We are aiming to halt all transmission of wild polio virus next year,” says Peter Crowley, the head of UNICEF’s global efforts against polio.

If polio is stopped, it will be only the second human disease to be eliminated. Smallpox was the first — the last case was in 1977.

There’s reason to be optimistic that this gigantic feat of public health is within humanity’s grasp. The World Health Organization says polio transmission has stopped for the first time ever in Africa. Last month, Africa’s last bastion of polio — Nigeria — celebrated going an entire year without recording any new cases.

Next Year Could Mark The End Of Polio Graphic: Jason Beaubien and Alyson Hurt/NPR

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Future Reflection

Overall I am amazed with the discoveries made by researchers discovering polio diagnoses and descriptions as well as prevention. The work done by organizations such as the World Health Organization and UNICEF have made much progress worldwide in stopping the spread of polio. 

Hopefully polio really can be eradicated from the world. Then someday the new generation may rise up and look to what has been accomplished and use that success to build another- stopping the next problem that the world may face. 

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Future Sources

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs114/en/

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Future

According to the World Health Organization regarding the future of polio, they believe in the complete stop of polio cases. They also claim,” Economic modelling has found that the eradication of polio would save at least US$ 40–50 billion between 1988 and 2035, mostly in low-income countries.” That much money being saved would certainly be a pro to the end of polio in the world. 

Just as most people would agree, I believe in the ability of people to stop polio in the world. We have come so far in medication techniques and advancements that many things once considered “deadly” are curable. Viruses are not fully curable, but the prevention methods against polio seem so strong that with further pushing for every person worldwide to be vaccinated, it may someday cease to exist.  

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Modern Day Reflection

By studying especially into the World Health Organization and their research from not only the past, but into today around the globe, I continue to learn more and more of polio. I knew that polio was not a major issue in the United States anymore, and assumed that it may be elsewhere, but I never realized how the world can stand together through an organization to the point of almost deleting the virus. To have 80 percent of the world’s population absolutely polio free is a ginormous leap for the world. It not only shows that we care about the well-being of people around the world despite political differences, but that overall the protection of our children and the new generation is meaningful to all of us. I am thoroughly impressed with the work completed by these organizations working together to stop polio!

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Thought this fact was very interesting! Henrietta Lacks is very well recognized in the health field for cancer research.. but polio too!

Henrietta Lacks died in 1951. The tumor that killed her has been alive and growing to this day. The tumor is immortal and was used to progress the Polio vaccine and is the jumping point for most human cell research. (source)

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Nigeria Marks 1 Year With No New Polio Cases

By MICHELLE FAUL

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) – Once stigmatized as the world’s polio epicenter, Nigeria on Friday celebrates its first year with no reported case of the crippling disease, having overcome obstacles ranging from Islamic extremists who assassinated vaccinators to rumors the vaccine was a plot to sterilize Muslims.

Just 20 years ago this West African nation was recording 1,000 polio cases a year - the highest in the world. The last recorded case of a child paralyzed by the wild polio virus endemic in Nigeria’s impoverished and mainly Muslim north was on July 24, 2014.

“We are celebrating the first time ever that Nigeria has gone without a case of polio, but with caution,” Dr. Tunji Funsho, chairman of Rotary International’s polio campaign in Nigeria, told The Associated Press.

If there are no new cases and laboratory tests remain negative in the next few weeks, the World Health Organization will take Nigeria off the list of polio-endemic countries, said Oliver Rosenbauer of the U.N. agency’s polio unit.

Nigeria is the last African country on that list.

The two remaining countries are Pakistan, which recorded 28 new cases this year, and Afghanistan, with five, said Rosenbauer. It’s a 99 percent reduction since the Global Polio Eradication Initiative began in 1988, when one of the world’s most feared diseases was endemic in 125 countries and was paralyzing nearly 1,000 children every day.

Polio shows up unsuspiciously as a fever and cold, followed quickly by acute paralysis as the virus destroys nerve cells. The disease mainly affects children under 5. The virus invades the body through the mouth and multiplies in the intestine, then is spread through the feces. It is highly contagious with infected but asymptomatic carriers able to spread it silently and swiftly.

read more 

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Modern Day Sources

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs114/en/

http://amhistory.si.edu/polio/timeline/index.htm

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Modern Day

By studying the history of polio, we have learned of different types of polio, as well as treatment methods (most specifically the Salk vaccine), and the different organizations affiliated with polio. These organizations contribute to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). 

Of these organizations, UNICEF, or the United Nations Children’s Fund, donates itself into the eradication of polio. In 1988, its journey with polio began with a goal to stop the transmission of polio worldwide. It partners with Rotary International, PanAmerican Health Organization, the World Health Organization, and Centers for Disease Control. All of these organizations make the GPEI successful.

Since the initiative was made in 1988 to stop polio, 99% of the cases recorded of polio have decreased. In 1994, America was declared polio free in World Health Organization areas. The WHO European region was also declared polio free in 2002, and the South-East Asia region in 2014. This achievement places approximately 80% of the worldwide population in certified polio-free areas. With about 7.5 billion people in the world, that means about 6 billion people are polio free and now have little to no chance of receiving the polio virus.

Mentioned earlier, three separate strands of the poliovirus were detected. One of them, caused by smallpox, was the last case recorded worldwide in 1979. Now another type, known as type 2, has been defeated; in fact it has not occurred since 1999 when it stopped.

The World Health Organization claims that the proper use of the strategies for polio eradication stop polio. Because of this, failure to conduct these properly results in cases of polio being detected. “Failure to implement strategic approaches, however, leads to ongoing transmission of the virus. Endemic transmission is continuing in Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan. Failure to stop polio in these last remaining areas could result in as many as 200 000 new cases every year, within 10 years, all over the world,” WHO writes on their website regarding polio. Polio could still potentially become another large-scale epidemic, but with proper use of strategies, most places in the world remain polio-free today.

Jonas Salk was perhaps the hero of medicine. Not only did he develop the vaccine but he did not wish to use his discovery for personal gain. By practically giving the vaccine away to patients worldwide, he decided the end of polio was far greater than the millions of dollars he could have made selling the vaccine. 2005 marked the 50th anniversary of the official introduction of the vaccine that saved millions of lives.

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History Sources

http://polioeraication.org/polio-today/history-of-polio/

https://www.cdc.gov/polio/about

http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/treasures/michael-underwood-1736-1820/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nin.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1739337/pdf/v076p00128.pdf

www.post-polio.org/edu/pps.html

http://amhistory.si.edu/polio/timeline/index.htm

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Reflection on History

Well, through my research on the history of polio, I have learned a great deal of factual knowledge. Quite honestly, the definition of polio and understanding just what exactly it is, is new knowledge for me. I remember vaguely being taught about polio and remember seeing a picture of the iron lung holding a girl and breathing for her; I remember she had a picture beside her head most likely of her family. Aside from that memory, and microscopic facts of FDR, polio in general is a new topic Never before had I heard of the Salk vaccine- a grand mark in history worldwide. Neither had the March of Dimes had any significance to my brain. All in all polio is a social issue, and the prevention of it strikes me as just as important as the stopping of Ebola and other health concerns that the world faces. I hope that further research of polio may expand my knowledge even further, and that by sharing my results, I may strike someone’s interest in reforming the world.

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History

Poliomyelitis, or polio, is a potentially deadly disease and it may cause one afflicted to experience paralysis. Most victims experience crippling, and some cases may cause the lung muscles to become inactive. There are accounts of the disease that predate recorded history, but in the later 1700s, more and more discoveries of polio were concluded. 

In the United States alone, polio has been recorded in 1894 and 1916. In 1894, 132 cases of polio were recorded in Vermont. Then later in 1916, the large scale epidemic of polio in the United States occurred. There were discoveries of polio made before this happened, however the vaccine was not developed until later in 1947. 

In 1789, Michael Underwood first described the disease as “... the debility of the lower extremities which gradually become more infirm, and after a few weeks are unable to support the body.” Other researchers, Jacob (Jakob) Heine and Oskar Medin contributed more description of polio. Their contributions led the disease to become known as the Heine-Medin disease. 

In 1929, Philip Drinker and Louis Shaw developed the iron lung to breathe for victims who lost the ability to use their lung muscles to polio. A year later and within the rest of the 1930s, two strains of polio were discovered. It was found out later on however that there are actually three strains of the virus. 

Sister Kenny, an Australian nurse, is recognized for her treatment methods to aid those with polio. By using warm compresses to relax muscles, the muscles of polio victims could be relaxed and the pain could be lessened. In the 1940s, she brought these methods to the United States. 

Dr. Jonas Salk is recognized for developing a vaccine for polio. By using a tissue culture method of growing the virus, he was able to develope this and he saved many lives. By the use of this vaccine, polio in the United States between 1955 and 1957 decreased by 85-90%. 

Albert Sabin from Russia also developed a vaccine, but it was replaced in 1962 by the Salk vaccine due to the cost and how it was administered. Previous attempts to make a vaccine, including those of Maurice Brodie and John Kolmer, were failed attempts before Salk and Sabin managed to reach the conclusion. 

Even after polio however, those afflicted with polio experienced post-polio syndrome. They often experience symptoms such as pain, fatigue, and weakness, but may also experience muscle-wasting. These symptoms could last over a year. 

In Brazil, the first National Immunization Day was held in Brazil for vaccinating against polio. In order to discover more of polio, the genome sequence was published in 1981. 

Polio wasn’t just discovered and fought against by a select number of people around the world. In fact there were many instances in which people created organizations for polio victims and polio prevention. FDR alone developed the Warm Springs Foundation for Rehabilitation, and he also founded the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, more famously known as the March of Dimes. Rotary International, in 1985, launched the PolioPlus program. UNICEF also began their worldwide campaign to stop polio in 1988. 

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