OPINION EXCHANGE | Good news: Africa hasn't reported a case of polio in three years - Star Tribune

OPINION EXCHANGE | Good news: Africa hasn't reported a case of polio in three years - Star Tribune

OPINION EXCHANGE | Good news: Africa hasn't reported a case of polio in three years - Star Tribune

Posted: 29 Aug 2019 03:38 PM PDT

On Aug. 21, we turned on our computers to learn of great news from Africa. Nigeria, the last country on that continent to report cases of the wild poliovirus, had not reported a case in three years.

This means that the entire African region could be certified as free of the wild poliovirus as soon as mid-2020.

The news was especially gratifying because Nigeria came close to this milestone three years ago, before four cases of polio were uncovered in a region of northeastern Nigeria where the Boko Haram insurgency had denied access to vaccinators. We wrote at the time ("Polio nearly eradicated worldwide — nearly," Sept. 1, 2016) to outline all that had been achieved across the globe by the partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), launched in 1988 by the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Rotary International. About 12 years ago, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation joined the GPEI and brought its resources, knowledge, and connections to the polio eradication effort.

In the year GPEI was launched, 1988, there were more than 350,000 cases of polio in 125 countries, compared with around 66 cases so far in 2019. Now, once the success of Nigeria has been carefully confirmed, there will be only two nations in the world that remain polio-endemic: Pakistan and Afghanistan.

As the number of polio-endemic countries has declined, there have been challenges to finishing the job, including misinformation and even "fake news" about vaccines that have caused mistrust in key countries. At one point, some regions of India were refusing the vaccine because of reports that the vaccines were tainted. The government of India and its Rotary members took a hard look at their outreach and realized they needed to find trusted members in each community to work with them to provide information and get communities on board. India was officially certified polio-free in 2014.

Global efforts in health care do not operate in a vacuum. Pakistan and Afghanistan have made huge progress in recent years, but as conflicts flare on both sides of the border, refugees are displaced and it has been difficult to reach some children. Some families still refuse to vaccinate children, often because of misinformation. The key is to win the battle for the hearts and minds of parents.

We all hope and pray that Nigeria, and thus Africa, will soon be declared wild poliovirus-free. This will not be the end of the global eradication campaign, but it will be an important marker. Only one disease, smallpox, has ever been eradicated.

The time has come for all parties to unite to protect their children. Nigeria's success also shines a bright light during a troubled time. Thirty years ago, the United States was the leader in global vaccination and our children are safer because of that success. But today the U.S. is at risk of losing its measles elimination status.

Over a million people will have converged on the Twin Cities for the Minnesota State Fair by the time it's over. They haven't been particularly worried about contagious diseases, and many younger Minnesotans will not remember that the State Fair was closed down during the polio epidemic of 1946. The hard-won success of Nigeria to eliminate polio within its borders is a reminder to us all of the importance of maintaining high vaccination rates to protect our children.

This year, Rotarians from Minnesota and Iowa are planning to "blitz" the State Fair and staff an informational table. Most will be wearing T-shirts with the distinctive Rotary cogwheel. Rotary is nondenominational, nonpolitical and a perfect venue for people who do not agree on many issues to sit down and have a polite, constructive conversation about the issues that divide our nation and our world.

If you have a chance, stop by to say hello and let them know that you support their efforts to eradicate polio. For more information on Rotary's role in polio eradication and to support the cause, please see www.rotary.org/endpolionow.

 

Charles Adams Cogan, of Northfield, is PolioPlus Team Lead for Rotary District 5960. Tim Mulcrone, of Prior Lake, is PolioPlus Team Lead for Rotary District 5950.

Your child must get vaccinated, here’s why - Hindustan Times

Posted: 10 Aug 2019 12:00 AM PDT

Delhi became the 24th state this week to make rotavirus vaccination against severe diarrhoea a part of the routine immunisation programme. Three doses of five drops given at age 6 weeks, 10 weeks and 14 weeks protect children against severe diarrhoea, which leads to an estimated 80,000 deaths, 900,000 hospital admissions, and 32.7 lakh clinical every year.

Vaccines have prevented 10 million deaths and protected millions more from debilitating illnesses such as pneumonia, diarrhoea, whooping cough, measles, and polio between 2010 and 2015, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), which called immunisation "one of the biggest successes of modern medicine". But vaccine hesitancy, or the reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite availability and affordability, is leading to a resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases worldwide, which has prompted WHO to list it as one of the top 10 threats to global health in 2019.

Rumour has led to a spurt in polio cases in Pakistan, which has reported 53 cases to date this year compared to 12 in all of 2018. Polio vaccination led to a 99% drop in polio cases within three decades, with cases declining from 350,000 cases in 1988 to 33 in 2018. In 2019, vaccine hesitancy in Pakistan has led to 65 cases till August 7 in two endemic countries of Pakistan (53), and Afghanistan (12).

To ensure an outbreak in Pakistan does not threaten India's polio-free status – the last polio case was in West Bengal in January 13, 2011 – everyone crossing the land border with Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh is vaccinated. A vaccination certificate irrespective of age at least four weeks before travel is a visa requisite for all international visitors to and from polio-affected Afghanistan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Syria.

Despite eradication, one national and two sub-national rounds of polio vaccination is continuing, along with surveillance for acute flaccid polio infection in children and environmental sampling for wild polio virus in 51 sites. For every one polio case, there are 100-2,000 people are infected but don't develop symptoms. Since the polio virus multiplies in gut, even asymptomatic infected people shed the virus in their faeces, which can be detected from testing sewage.

India has the world's largest immunisation programme that vaccinates an annual birth cohort of 26.7 million children against 12 vaccine-preventable diseases, of which 10 are given nationwide. Sub-national immunisation includes vaccination against Japanese Encephalitis in endemic areas, and pneumococcal vaccine given in five states since 2017 to protect children against severe pneumonia and some ear infections.

This has led to improvements in child health, indicated by decline in under-5 mortality (U5-MR) rate from 43 in 2015 to 39 per 1,000 births in 2016. Around 98% children are vaccinated at least once, of which 70% are fully immunised, 28% miss some vaccines, and 2% don't get vaccinated at all.

A deeper dive into data shows vaccination rates vary substantially by geography, gender, mother's education and income, with U5-MR being 37 for boys and 41 for girls. Even in low-income areas and urban slums in Delhi, 78 girls were fully immunised for every 100 boys.

Fake news is adding further hurdles to end measles-rubella using the MR vaccine, which is being given in 32 states and union territories with 95-96% coverage. The only states left are West Bengal and Delhi, where vaccination in schools was stopped following safety concerns that led to Delhi High Court ruling that parental consent is a must to vaccinate children.

Unlike viruses such as influenza, Nipah, Zika and Ebola, humans are the only natural reservoirs of the smallpox, polio and measles-rubella viruses, which makes it possible to eradicate and control them. The smallpox vaccine globally eradicated smallpox in 1979, which killed an estimated 300 million in 20th century, compared to 100 million deaths in wars in the same period. Mass vaccination helped India get polio cases down from 741 in 2009 to one in January 2011.

Eliminating a disease is possible by vaccinating at least 99% children to build "herd immunity" in the community immunity that protects even those who are not vaccinated and remain susceptible to infection. As demonstrated by polio, the last mile is the biggest challenge in disease elimination, when vaccinated every child becomes imperative for controlling infection.

With emotionally charged fake news shared within minutes on social media, debunking rumours with facts has to be part of public health strategy to control disease and save lives

First Published: Aug 10, 2019 21:41 IST

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Roseola vs. measles rash: What is the difference? - Medical News Today

Image
Roseola and measles are two different diseases that present with a high fever and a rash. They are both most commonly seen in childhood, although measles can affect people of any age, and roseola in adults is very rare. While both diseases share similarities, there are distinguishing factors, such as how the symptoms present and the disease progression. Read on to find out the difference between roseola and measles rashes. Roseola, also known as roseola infantum, sixth disease, or exanthema subitum, is a viral infection that typically affects children. The human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) or human herpesvirus 7 (HHV-7) causes roseola. The disease is spread through tiny respiratory droplets that people either breathe in or pick up from surfaces they touch. This disease usually presents in children between the ages of 6–12 months . Children who have this disease experience a high fever, followed by a pink or red rash. Roseola is a self-limiting viral illness, meaning it will typically go awa...
Read more

poliomyelitis treatment

Image
poliomyelitis treatment Drug and Device News March 2019 - P&T Community Posted: 04 Mar 2019 10:35 AM PST NEW DRUG APPROVALS Ontruzant, a Herceptin Biosimilar The FDA has approved trastuzumabdttb (Ontruzant, Samsung Bioepis Company, Ltd.) for HER2-overexpressing breast cancer and HER2-overexpressing metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma. Trastuzumabdttb, a HER2/neu receptor antagonist, is the third FDA-approved biosimilar of Herceptin (Genentech). Patients should be selected for therapy based on an FDA-approved companion diagnostic. Trastuzumab-dttb carries a boxed warning about the risks of cardiomyopathy, serious and fatal infusion reactions, embryo-fetal toxicity, and pulmonary toxicity. Ontruzant will be marketed and distributed in the U.S. by Merck. Sources: Samsung Bioepis, January 21, 2019; Ontruzant . prescribing information, January 2019; FDA, January 18, 2019 Vaxelis, a Combination Vaccine T...
Read more

Coronavirus fake news echoes century-old polio fears - Newsroom

Image
Coronavirus fake news echoes century-old polio fears - Newsroom Coronavirus fake news echoes century-old polio fears - Newsroom Posted: 05 Feb 2020 08:32 AM PST FEBRUARY 6, 2020 Updated 15 hours ago Dr Heather Battles Dr Heather Battles is a lecturer in anthropology at the University of Auckland and researches infectious diseases and epidemics. Show more Ideasroom During the past month, in the confusion and uncertainty over the precise origin of the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak, many alternate ideas or 'conspiracy theories' have sprung up and spread widely via social media including Twitter and Facebook. I have had a sense of déjà vu as many of these claims have parallels in how people responded to another 'emerging' epidemic disease a century ago: polio. The first example that struck me is the idea (spread by US fake news website Infowars and others) that the roll-out of 5G technology is to blame, wit...
Read more