To the Editor: In July 2007, an Australian traveler imported polio from Pakistan to Australia (1). He was a 22-year-old man who had immigrated to Australia and had traveled to his country of origin (Pakistan) to visit friends and relatives. Pakistan is one of 4 countries (Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, Pakistan) where polio is still endemic. A diagnosis of polio was made shortly after his return ...

As the world takes rapid strides in the eradication of polio, the trivalent inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) would be the only polio vaccine available in the near future. Since the maintenance of herd immunity is important for sustaining polio eradication, this vaccine would need to be used in the early childhood immunization schedule for many years to come [1]. WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of...

BACKGROUND Despite the efforts of national and international organizations, polio has not been eradicated from Pakistan. The prevalence of polio in Pakistan is exceptional in global context. Quetta and Peshawar divisions are amongst the most affected regions hit by polio in Pakistan. This study was carried out to assess the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions towards polio immunization among r...

Polio eradication goals: IAP strongly believes that polio will be eradicated from India and that it will happen sooner or later, sooner the better. IAP also has full faith in the current polio eradication goals. IAP firmly believes that the 4 pronged strategy of polio eradication consisting of effective routine immunization, Supplementary Immunization Activity (SIA), AFP surveillance and mop-up...

BACKGROUND Designing effective public health campaigns in areas of armed conflict requires a nuanced understanding of how violence impacts the epidemiology of the disease in question. METHODS We examine the geographical relationship between violence (represented by the location of detonated Improvised Explosive Devices) and polio incidence by generating maps of IEDs and polio incidence during...

Post-polio syndrome is a condition characterized by increased muscle weakness, atrophy, fatigue and pain developing several years after the acute polio event. We describe a 52-year-old patient who experienced post-polio syndrome; he had contracted acute paralytic poliomyelitis at 12 months of age, shortly after the third dose of Salk polio vaccine.

India celebrated its victory over polio on 11th February 2014 after an extraordinary fight against the disease for almost two decades since the introduction of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) in India. The South-East Asia Region of the World Health Organisation (WHO) was certified polio free, on March 27, 2014 by the WHO’s Regional Certification Commission for polio eradication c...

OBJECTIVE To assess the impact of post-polio-related fatigue on quality of life. DESIGN Cross-sectional case control study. SUBJECTS Patients without additional health problems that may induce fatigue were selected from among 82 polio survivors. Twenty-six patients with post-polio syndrome and 10 without post-polio syndrome were included. Control group consisted of 30 healthy volunteers. ...

BACKGROUND Poliomyelitis is a highly infectious disease caused by poliovirus, which becomes difficult to manage/eradicate in politically unstable areas. The objectives of this study were to determine the movement and management of such polio outbreaks in endemic countries and countries with reoccurring cases of polio and to determine the effect of political instability on polio eradication. M...

Although India was removed from the list of polio endemic countries in January 2012, maintaining the focus on polio vaccination is critically important to prevent reintroduction of the virus. In 2009-2010, we conducted a study to assess the attitudes and practices of frontline health workers in India regarding polio immunization in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. More than 95% of auxiliary nurse midwi...