World Polio Day is meant to spread awareness about the value of maintaining good health among the public.
World Polio Day is observed on October 24 every year to raise awareness about polio vaccination and eradication. The day is an opportunity to focus on global efforts toward a polio-free world, as well as to recognize the tireless contributions of those on the frontlines who play a vital role in the global fight to eradicate polio.
There is currently no treatment for the potentially fatal infectious disease polio, but there are secure and reliable vaccines available.
Vaccination, however, can shield against the disease. Following several doses of the polio vaccine, a child is permanently protected. The only way to eliminate polio is to immunize every child with a vaccine.
World Polio Day Theme 2022
This year’s theme for World Polio day is “A healthier future for mothers and children,” which inspires us to raise awareness among people about the importance of staying healthy.
What is Polio?
Poliomyelitis, also known as polio, is a potentially fatal and disabling disease caused by the poliovirus. Around 25% of poliovirus infections result in flu-like symptoms, but the majority of poliovirus infections go unnoticed. But the virus paralyzes 1 in 200 individuals, leaving them permanently disabled and sometimes even killed.
Once infected with polio, there is no cure. The disease cannot be cured or prevented from spreading without vaccinations.
History of World Polio Day
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative was started in 1988 when the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution calling for the eradication of polio worldwide.
The initiative was led by national governments, WHO, Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), UNICEF, and was later joined by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
Since 1988, wild poliovirus cases have decreased by more than 99%, from an estimated 350 000 cases in more than 125 endemic countries to 175 reported cases in 2019.
Significance of this day
The goal of the day is to spread knowledge about the polio vaccine so that every child is protected from the disease’s effects and to honor the numerous volunteers, professionals, and parents whose efforts have made polio eradication possible.
Continued efforts should be made to maintain high immunization rates in order to achieve a world free of polio. The incident emphasizes the significance of implementing high-quality surveillance to detect the virus’s existence and prepare for an outbreak.
As a result, many people around the world believe that one of the most important duties is to eradicate polio. Hence, World Polio Day is a significant occasion to promote polio awareness and its eradication.
Can polio return after decades?
As the COVID-19 pandemic taught us that diseases can spread fast from country to country. This means polio anywhere poses a risk to everyone. For this reason, it is crucial to maintain high vaccination rates and robust surveillance programs even in nations where polio occurrences have been rare for a long time.
Until the virus is eradicated worldwide, every country is still at risk of seeing a polio resurgence, as evidenced by recent cases of the disease being discovered in nations that had not seen it for decades.
The CDC to use Oral Polio Vaccine for the First Time
In order to avoid an outbreak in the greater New York City metropolitan area that left one adult paralyzed during the summer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering deploying an oral polio vaccination for the first time in more than 20 years.
Dr. Janell Routh, head of the CDC’s domestic polio team, said, “We are in conversations with our New York State and New York City colleagues concerning the use of nOPV.” She was referring to the innovative oral polio vaccine. A more recent version of the oral vaccine that the CDC is thinking about is more stable and less likely to experience mutation.
“It will take time. We cannot simply press a button and expect it to exist overnight” Routh said on CNBC on Friday. “There will be a lot of controversy and concern around the reintroduction of the oral polio vaccine in the United States,” she said.
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