World Would Be Polio-Free In 3 Years

A microneedle patch applied to the skin could help eradicate polio within three years. The small round adhesive bandage is applied on the skin by anyone, there is no need for a highly trained professional to do it.

The introduction of the patch comes exactly 60 years ago when Dr Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine was declared safe and effective. The patch eliminates the use of traditional needle which still hurts when injected on the skin.

According to Dr John Sever who has been working with the Rotary Foundation since 1979, only three countries still report polio infections until now. These are Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan, reports VOA.

Nigeria has made significant progress in reducing infections with only six cases in 2014, down from 53 in 2013. Oyawale Tomori, president of the Nigerian Academy of Science, said there has been no new cases the past eight months, although he acknowledges that it is difficult to have children vaccinated against polio in parts of the country where there is conflict. The same case applies to Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Polio mostly affect young children. Because of improved hygiene, children had less contact with the polio virus as infants. Exposure provides immunity, which explains the polio epidemic in the US in the 1940s during the warm, summer months.

The vaccine that Salk developed had a killed polio virus which could not cause infection but could trick the body into thinking it had been attacked, leading to production of antibodies against the disease.

The virus is spread from individual to individual via fecal contamination, coughing and sneezing. Ideally, children ages 2, 4, 4 to 6 years and 6 to 18 months should receive four doses of inactivate polio vaccines, reports Americanlivewire.

At about the same time, Dr Albert Sabin developed a vaccine that used a live but much weaker polio virus. His version was an oral vaccine.

Because of the vaccine, from 35,000 cases in the US yearly, the country eradicated polio in 1979. However, there is a need to eradicate it globally to completely remove the ailment worldwide.

Among the groups working to eradicate polio are Rotary, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, World Health Organisation, UNICEF, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

To contact the writer, email: v.hernandez@ibtimes.com.au