Poliomyelitis--Challenges for the Last Mile of the Eradication Programme

• Published in: Gesundheitswesen (Bundesverband der Ärzte des Öffentlichen Gesundheitsdienstes (Germany)) Vol. 78; no. 4; p. 227
• Main Authors: Müller, O, Jahn, A, Razum, O
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: German
• Published: Germany 01.04.2016
• Subjects: Developing Countries - statistics & numerical data; Disease Eradication - statistics & numerical data; Endemic Diseases - prevention & control; Endemic Diseases - statistics & numerical data; Global Health - ethnology; Global Health - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Incidence; Mass Vaccination - ethnology; Mass Vaccination - utilization; Poliomyelitis - ethnology; Poliomyelitis - prevention & control; Poliovirus Vaccine, Oral - administration & dosage; Refusal to Participate - ethnology; Refusal to Participate - statistics & numerical data; Risk Factors; World Health Organization
• ISSN: 1439-4421
• DOI: 10.1055/s-0035-1548854

The World Health Organisation initiated the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in the year 1988. With the large-scale application of routine and mass vaccinations in children under the age of 5 years, polio disease has become restricted to only 3 endemic countries (Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria) by today. However, since the beginning of the 21st century, increasing numbers of secondary polio epidemics have been observed which were triggered through migration, political turmoil and weak health systems. In addition, there emerged serious technical (e. g., back-mutations of oral vaccine virus to wild virus) and socio-political (refusal of vaccinations in Muslim populations of Nigeria and Pakistan) problems with the vaccination in the remaining endemic countries. It thus appears questionable if the current eradiation initiative will reach its goal in the foreseeable future.