Polio… it can be eradicatedPolio is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus. It invades the nervous system and can cause paralysis in a matter of hours.

It can strike at any age, but affects mainly children under five.

The vaccine

1954–1970sToday

2010

Polio is now endemic in only four countries:Nigeria, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

Polio outbreaks still occur in some countries

in Africa and Asia.

1980s – onwards1988Polio still exists in125 countries andparalyzes anestimated 350,000children every year.

World HealthAssembly passesa resolution callingfor the globaleradication ofpolio. Global PolioEradicationInitiative (GPEI) iscreated.

2007The World HealthOrganisationdeclares that poliohas beeneradicated in theAmericas, Europe,and the WesternPacific.

Late 1800s–early 1900sPoor sanitation meantinfants were constantlyexposed to the virus,enhancing naturalimmunity. In the late1800s to early 1900s,however, improvedcommunity sanitationreduced childhoodexposure and immunity,leading to an increasednumber of children andadults at risk of paralyticpolio infection.

The beginning

3,000 BC19th century

ca.1900Ancient historyAncient Egyptianpaintings and carvingsdepict otherwise healthypeople with witheredlimbs and young childrenwalking with canes.

The outbreaks

1900–1952

1900sSmall,localized

paralytic polioepidemics inEurope andthe UnitedStates.

By 1950sOutbreaksreach

pandemicproportions inEurope, NorthAmerica,Australia, andNew Zealand.

1952Worst poliooutbreak in

the UnitedStates: 658,000reported cases ofwhich 3,145 diedand 21,269 hadmild to disablingparalysis.

Push for eradication

How does polio spread?

By person-to-person contact.

infected

poorsanitation

virus pain inthe

limbs

stiffnessin theneck

fever

fatigue

headache

vomiting

paralysis

once in theintestine,the poliovirusinvades thecentralnervoussystem

What are the symptoms?

Almost three-quarters have nosymptoms at all.

Preventing polio

Polio can be prevented throughchildhood immunization. Theoral polio vaccine (OPV), givenmultiple times, almost alwaysprotects a child for life.

A mother

bringing her child for OPV

(Mogadishu, Somalia)Polio National Immunization

Day (Bangladesh)

OPV is given to every child

under five during an NID. This

baby is 15 hours old (Angola)

Pho

tos

cour

tesy

of W

HO

Infectious diseaseseradicated1. Smallpox (1979) ✔2. Polio . . .

© 2010 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. All Rights Reserved.

From 350,000 cases in 1988 to just over

1,500 cases in 2009

99 percent reductionsince 1988

Source: Years 1980 - 1993. UNICEF estimates. Years 2000 - 2009, WHO reported cases.

2007 20101988

350,000

300,000

250,000

200,000

150,000

100,000

50,000

0

Estimated number of polio cases per year

Central Africa National Immunication Day

(Congo river Island two hours from Kinshasa)

1954Jonas Salk develops firstvaccine against polio–aninjected inactivated poliovaccine (IPV).

1962Albert Sabin develops a “live”oral polio vaccine (OPV),which becomes the vaccine ofchoice for most nationalimmunization programsworldwide because it iseasy to administer.

With OPV, polio is broughtunder control inindustrialized countries.

1970sLaunch of nationalimmunization programsusing OPV worldwide,which leads to controlof the disease in manydeveloping countries.

K226 polio infographic Revised v2:Layout 1 06/10/2010 13:31 Page 1