In many countries around the world, polio has been eradicated thanks to the extensive use of oral vaccines. Now, a recent research suggests that the possibility of using combination vaccines in places where the disease is still rampant among the population. The World Health Organization's campaign to deliver single shot vaccines to children who have already received the oral drops could boost their immunity and prove to be a step forward the eradication of polio. The ongoing concern is which vaccine to use.
In wealthy countries, the injectable polio vaccine is used, but developing countries prefer the oral formulation because it is more cost-effective, easier to administer, and is more effective at preventing viral transmission. The injectable vaccine contains the inactivated form of virus, while the oral formulation contains a weakened form of the live virus. Children who received oral drops can pass the virus in their stools, but there have been some rare documented cases where the oral dose triggered the development of the disease.
The new study observed over 1,000 Indian children who had previously received the oral version of the anti-polio vaccine, and researchers found that administering a booster shot was better than following up the oral dose with more oral drops. Dr. Hamid Jafari, director of polio operations for the WHO says that, "It could play a major role in completing the job of polio eradication once and for all."
For nearly 3 decades, the oral polio vaccine has been critical in keeping the paralyzing disease under control. Health workers have even gone from Houston house within some of the hardest-hit areas to deliver the oral drops. Because of these efforts, the number of countries where polio has spread has gone down within the last several years.
As of last year, there are only three countries in the world where polio is still considered as a public health threat, and these countries were Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan. However, because of global travel, the threat of this disease is a re-emerging and the WHO has declared an international public health emergency due to polio outbreaks in at least 10 countries in May of this year.