Polio Can Lead to Paralysis and Death In 1988, there were 350,000 cases of wild polio across 125 countries – with more than 1,000 children per day becoming paralyzed. In 2022, there were only 30 cases in three countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan, where wild
Polio was once one of the most feared diseases in the United States. Thanks to vaccination, wild poliovirus has been eliminated in this country. The best way to keep people safe from polio is to maintain high immunity (protection) against polio in the population through vaccination.
Australia is considered polio free, but the virus is still circulating overseas. The polio surveillance program ensures we maintain our polio-free status, and we contribute to eradicating polio globally.
Polio vaccines helped to wipe out polio in the U.S. and almost everywhere else. But polio is making a comeback. There have been recent outbreaks around the world. Symptoms of polio can range from a mild, flu-like illness to serious muscle paralysis.
Of the 3 strains of wild poliovirus (type 1, type 2 and type 3), wild poliovirus type 2 was eradicated in 1999 and wild poliovirus type 3 was eradicated in 2020. As at 2022, endemic wild poliovirus type 1 remains in two countries: Pakistan and Afghanistan.
IPV Immunization Schedule
This is safe. The oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) is a weakened live vaccine that is still used in many parts of the world, but hasn't been used in the United States since 2000. Using IPV eliminates the small risk of developing polio after receiving the live oral polio vaccine.
It is not known how long people who received IPV will be protected against polio, but they are most likely protected for many years after a complete series of IPV.
Because of this, young adults and children vaccinated since the switch can still be infected with poliovirus in their intestines and shed the virus in their stool. “They're protected against a paralytic disease, but they can still harbor the virus and spread it to others.
It enters the body through the mouth. It spreads through: Contact with the feces (poop) of an infected person. Droplets from a sneeze or cough of an infected person (less common)
Polio spreads from person-to-person through contact with the poop (often tiny, invisible amounts) of an infected person. More rarely, it can spread through the sneeze or cough droplets from an infected person.
Australia's National Immunisation Program provides children with a series of free polio vaccinations, which are given by injection. Adults who travel to countries with polio, or look after patients with polio, should have a booster every 10 years.
Because of high rates of immunisation and clean drinking water, Australia is currently free from polio. People who are not immune may become infected in countries where polio is still circulating.
The last case of locally acquired polio in Australia was in 1972. Australia was declared polio-free on 29 October, 2000, along with the other 36 countries in the Western Pacific Region of the World Health Organization.
Efforts to eradicate polio over the last few decades have prevented more than 20 million cases of paralysis. However, if wild poliovirus transmission continues in Pakistan and Afghanistan, children worldwide remain at risk of paralysis.
The misconception of people about polio vaccine, insecurity within the country and poor health system are the reasons of failure of polio eradication campaigns in these regions. Awareness campaigns about polio for locals and development of proper health system will help in the eradication of polio.
The poliovirus is of particular concern to public health because it spreads easily - it can circulate without causing symptoms for weeks, and so can travel great distances, entering polio-free areas by land, sea or air travel.
One of the things that makes polio eradicable is the fact that humans are the only reservoir. No poliovirus has been found to exist and spread among animals despite repeated attempts to document this.
The virus enters another person through the mouth. The virus can spread easily. For example, the virus can spread if people haven't washed their hands after coughing, using the toilet or before eating. The virus also may be in water contaminated with feces carrying the poliovirus.
There is no cure for polio, it can only be prevented. Polio vaccine, given multiple times, can protect a child for life.
Adults who know or suspect that they are unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated against polio should complete their polio vaccination series with IPV. Adults who completed their polio vaccination but who are at increased risk of exposure to poliovirus may receive one lifetime IPV booster.
If you grew up in the U.S. in the 1970s or later, there's a good chance you got the polio vaccine. Polio vaccines have been part of routine childhood immunizations in the U.S. since the vaccine was approved in the mid-1950s. If you got any vaccines as a kid, polio was probably one of them.
Most adults don't need polio vaccine because they were already vaccinated as kids, but three groups of adults are at higher risk and should consider polio vaccination: People who travel to areas of the world where polio is common. Lab workers who might handle poliovirus.
If you want to check your actual records, you can start by contacting your pediatrician's office. You can also try to request old vaccination records from your home state or city if it has an Immunization Information System (IIS) in place. In New York City, you can request your records online.
Measles is an example of a stable virus that is unlikely to replicate, so scientists could predict that immunity would last a long time, which it does." Smallpox and polio, highly contagious viruses that were almost eradicated through vaccination, are also stable with low mutation rates.
All 50 states and the District of Columbia require the vaccine for students entering kindergarten. If you're not sure whether you received your polio shots, your state's immunization registry may have a copy of your records.