{"id":34350,"date":"2024-12-27T17:44:22","date_gmt":"2024-12-27T12:14:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=34350"},"modified":"2024-12-27T17:44:24","modified_gmt":"2024-12-27T12:14:24","slug":"global-polio-resurgence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/27-12-2024\/global-polio-resurgence","title":{"rendered":"A Global Polio Resurgence and the Need for Revaluation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/ Health<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>WHO has reported that Poliovirus had been detected through routine surveillance of wastewater systems in five countries: Finland, Germany, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom since September this year.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is Polio?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Polio (poliomyelitis)<\/strong> is a highly contagious <strong>viral disease<\/strong> caused by the poliovirus.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>It primarily affects children <\/strong>under the age of 5 and can lead to severe complications such as <strong>paralysis, disability, or even death.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Spread: <\/strong>Polio spreads mainly through <strong>fecal-oral transmission.\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It can also be spread via <strong>respiratory droplets <\/strong>from coughing or sneezing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Symptoms:<\/strong> Most cases are mild or asymptomatic.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A smaller percentage of infected individuals develop paralytic polio, which can cause paralysis, usually affecting the legs or respiratory muscles.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Vaccination: <\/strong>There is <strong>no cure<\/strong> for polio, it can only be prevented.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Polio vaccine, given multiple times, can protect a child for life.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Vaccines available: <\/strong>Oral polio vaccine and inactivated polio vaccine. Both are effective and safe.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>There are three types<\/strong> of wild poliovirus (WPV): type 1, type 2, and type 3.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>State of Polio Eradication<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Eradication:<\/strong><strong>Type 2<\/strong> wild poliovirus was declared eradicated in <strong>September 2015<\/strong> and <strong>Type 3<\/strong> wild <strong>poliovirus<\/strong> was declared eradicated in October 2019.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Only type 1<\/strong> wild poliovirus remains.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The WHO South-East Asia Region<\/strong> was declared free of poliovirus in <strong>2014 <\/strong>and the <strong>WHO African Region<\/strong> was certified free of wild poliovirus (WPV) in <strong>2020.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>India <\/strong>was certified polio-free in <strong>March 2014 <\/strong>and continues to be so.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>According to the WHO, <strong>Pakistan and Afghanistan<\/strong> are the only countries in the world where polio remains endemic.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Vaccines for Polio Eradication\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV): <\/strong>A live-attenuated vaccine used for its ease of administration and mucosal immunity induction. However, it may lead to <strong>Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus (VDPV)<\/strong> and continued transmission.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Inactivated Poliovirus Vaccine (IPV): <\/strong>A non-live vaccine protecting against all three poliovirus types without causing disease or transmission.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Researchers advocate an OPV-to-IPV switch for expedited eradication.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Global\u00a0 Efforts in Polio Eradication<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI): <\/strong>The goal is to complete the eradication and containment of all wild, vaccine-related, and Sabin polioviruses, so no child suffers from paralytic poliomyelitis ever again.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>GPEI\u2019s four pillars <\/strong>include Routine Immunization, Supplementary immunization, Surveillance, and Targeted mop-up campaigns.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>At the <strong>2022 World Health Summit in Berlin<\/strong>, Germany, global leaders pledged <strong>$2.6 billion <\/strong>to GPEI to end polio.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Global Polio Eradication Strategy 2022-2026 <\/strong>outlines the roadmap to achieving and sustaining a polio-free world, serving as a strategic guide for GPEI stakeholders, partners, donors, and affected governments.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>World Polio Day<\/strong> is observed on <strong>24th October,<\/strong> the birth date of <strong>Jonas Salk<\/strong>, who led the first team to develop a vaccine against poliomyelitis.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India\u2019s Efforts in Polio Eradication<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Pulse Polio Programme Launch (1995):<\/strong> It used an <strong>Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) <\/strong>strategy, reaching over 1 million children and ensuring every child under five was vaccinated.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The campaign became iconic, with the slogan<strong> \u201cDo Boond Zindagi Ki\u201d<\/strong> (Two drops of life).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Pulse Polio campaigns also relied heavily on <strong>door-to-door efforts, <\/strong>reaching children in difficult-to-reach areas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Routine Immunization and System Strengthening: <\/strong>The UIP provided free vaccines against polio, diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus, measles, hepatitis B, and tuberculosis.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) Introduction (2015): <\/strong>IPV provides additional protection against polio, especially against <strong>type 2 poliovirus<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>There is a need to <strong>strengthen routine surveillance<\/strong> systems globally, particularly in countries reporting poliovirus in wastewater.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Address vaccine inequities<\/strong> by ensuring all children, especially in conflict zones and remote areas, receive immunization.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Gradually <strong>shift from OPV to IPV <\/strong>to eliminate the risk of Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus (VDPV).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Concluding remarks<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>As long as a single child remains infected, children in all countries are at risk of contracting polio.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Failure to eradicate polio from these last remaining strongholds could result in a global resurgence of the disease.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/sci-tech\/health\/a-global-polio-resurgence-and-the-need-to-reevaluate-the-basics\/article69026816.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WHO has reported that Poliovirus had been detected through routine surveillance of wastewater systems in five countries: Finland, Germany, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom since September this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34350"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34350\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34351,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34350\/revisions\/34351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}