Polio caused by oral polio vaccine is spreading and paralyzing children outside the United States.
According to CDC, there was an alarming 700% increase in vaccine-derived poliovirus cases last year compared to 2021.
The US stopped using oral polio vaccine in 2000 because it can rarely cause polio in children, but the oral version is still widely used in other countries.
A recent, rare outbreak of polio in the US occurred in New York as a result of a foreign traveler who brought back vaccine-strain polio. It has since been detected in the New York water supply. Health officials say they are monitoring the situation closely.
Unlike oral polio vaccine, the injected polio vaccine carries no risk of transmitting polio.
The answer to the spread of vaccine strain polio outbreaks, according to CDC: More vaccination…
Read more from CDC below.
Update on Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus Outbreaks Worldwide — January 2021–December 2022
Sub-optimal routine immunization and outbreak control since the pandemic hinder polio eradication efforts
- Vaccine-derived poliovirus can spread and lead to paralysis in infected children in areas with low immunization coverage. Global routine immunization coverage decreased during the COVID pandemic.
- The introduction of a new oral vaccine for type 2 poliovirus has been associated with a marked decrease in new vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 emergencies and a 36% decrease in the number of paralytic polio cases during 2021‒2022. However, 2022 also saw an approximate 700% increase in type 1 circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus cases — associated with lower routine polio immunization coverage globally — compared to 2021.
- Three actions are necessary to stop the spread of vaccine-derived poliovirus and make further progress toward ending polio worldwide: strengthen routine polio immunization, detect polio cases in a timely manner, and rapidly respond to outbreaks with high-quality vaccination campaigns.
Read more here: bit.ly/mm7214a3
Related: CDC Global Health – Polio
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