A World without Polio
Date of Issue (December 13, 2000)
Paralytic Polio is caused by a virus which attacks the nerves in the spinal cord, cutting off the impulse from the brain to the muscles and causing the affected muscle fibres to shrivel and die. The polio virus has only human beings as host. Inexpensive oral polio vaccine - OPV - can stop the virus and eradicate the dreaded disease of poliomyelitis for ever.
When the polio virus, the world's greatest crippler of children, is eradicated, the humanitarian and financial benefits ($ 1.5 billion annually) will be enormous.
Through immunization, great progress has been made in the war on polio. Allied in this cause are National Health Ministries and their workers, Rotary International, the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Donor Governments, Non Governmental Organizations (NG0s), Specialized agencies such as the US Centre for Disease Control and Preventation (CDC) and hundreds and thousands of Volunteers.
Extraordinary measures are needed to eradicate the polio virus. High level of routine immunization must be supplemented by (1) National Immunization Days (NIDS) (2) Rigorous Surveillance to determine where the polio virus still circulates (3) Laboratory support and (4) Mop up operations where pockets of disease remain.