During a “mop up” search for unvaccinated
children, this infant in Angola was
first missed and then found and immunized.
Continued vigilance is required to
prevent polio from re-emerging in countries certified polio-free while eradication
is pursued in the dwindling number of
endemic countries. Future Challenges
The final years of polio eradication have been compared
to the last leg of a marathon and the final
ascent to Everest’s summit. Political and financial
commitment must remain high. Complacency, lack of vigilance, and reduced vaccination coverage can threaten
countries with reintroduction of the virus from other
countries. Relaxed surveillance will jeopardize “poliofree”
certification. Developing sound post-eradication
policies aimed at safely stopping vaccination and reducing
the threat of inadvertent or deliberate reintroduction
of virus are high priorities for the global program. Perhaps the most important challenge is to learn how to
use the lessons learned from polio eradication to improve
all immunization and disease control activities in developing
countries.
Keeping Up With Growing Populations
Until global certification is achieved and it is deemed safe to
stop polio immunization, supplying countries with sufficient oral polio vaccine so they can continue to immunize
their under-5 populations will remain a challenge.
The introduction of monovalent P1 Oral Polio Vaccine into some countries with no remaining P2 or P3 virus may tip the scales in favor of interrupting transmission where the virus is particularly challenging to eradicate. |