Polio News and Research

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Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus that invades the nervous system and can cause severe paralysis. The virus enters the body through the mouth and multiplies in the intestine. Initial symptoms are fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness in the neck, and pain in the limbs. One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis (usually in the legs). Among those paralyzed, 5-10% die when their breathing muscles become immobilized. Polio mainly affects children under five years of age. Naturally occurring polio was eliminated in the U.S. in 1979 and in the Western Hemisphere by 1991; however, worldwide efforts are continuing towards eradication of this contagious and devastating disease.

Opinion pieces address polio eradication goal to be discussed at Global Vaccine Summit

Public and private sector representatives will meet this week in Abu Dhabi at the Global Vaccine Summit, hosted by His Highness General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, in partnership with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

24 Apr 2013

Bill Gates reflects on Global Vaccine Summit in foundation blog

"This week I'm going to Abu Dhabi to attend the Global Vaccine Summit to celebrate the tremendous progress the world has made in ending polio and immunizing children," Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, writes in the foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog.

24 Apr 2013

Partnership and accountability among countries will lead to global health successes

In remarks at the Africa Health Forum on Friday in Washington, D.C., Deputy Secretary of State William Burns discussed the evolution of foreign assistance and cooperation "from a donor-recipient relationship to more of a partnership," according to a speech transcript provided by the U.S. State Department.

23 Apr 2013

Experts call for better vaccine supply, logistics systems ahead of World Immunization Week

In recognition of World Immunization Week, which began April 21, the WHO "is calling on nations to help immunize more children against preventable diseases so more lives can be saved," VOA News reports, noting the U.N. health agency "estimates immunization saves the lives of two to three million children every year."

23 Apr 2013

Britain to 'stand together' with other stakeholders to eradicate polio

"[V]accinations play a huge part in deciding a country's long-term health," and "[t]he more healthy a population, the better able it is to contribute to and benefit from economic development," British Secretary of State for International Development Justine Greening writes in an Independent opinion piece.

23 Apr 2013

Clinical Research Forum honors studies with potential to benefit human health and welfare

Ten of the most outstanding clinical research projects from institutions around the country have been selected to receive the Clinical Research Forum's Annual Top 10 Clinical Research Achievement Awards.

22 Apr 2013

Penn researcher wins Distinguished Clinical Research Achievement Award for innovations in gene therapy

A gene therapy study focused on finding a cure for a rare congenital blinding disease has been recognized as one of the ten most outstanding clinical research projects of the year by the Clinical Research Forum (CRF).

22 Apr 2013

Penn Medicine gene therapy study receives Distinguished Clinical Research Achievement Award

20 Apr 2013

Nature reports on efforts to vaccinate Nigeria's nomadic communities against polio

"A 25-year, $10 billion global effort has taken the number of polio cases from hundreds of thousands per year to just hundreds, but it is now struggling to stamp the virus out of its final strongholds in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria, where transmission has never been interrupted," Nature reports.

19 Apr 2013

Global experts highlight strategies to immunize more children

In advance of World Immunization Week, global experts are highlighting strategies to further advance progress on the Global Vaccine Action Plan that was endorsed by the World Health Assembly, 2012.

19 Apr 2013

Longer looks: The timely trauma response in Boston; Problems with aging doctors; Transplants from donors with HIV

The bombs at the Boston Marathon were designed to maim and kill, and they did. Three people died within the first moments of the blast. More than a hundred and seventy people were injured. They had their limbs blown off, vital arteries severed, bones fractured, flesh torn open by shrapnel or scorched by the blasts' heat. Yet it now appears that every one of the wounded alive when rescuers reached them will survive.

19 Apr 2013

International community seems powerless to stop attacks on polio workers

Noting a number of attacks against polio workers in Pakistan over the past few months, Asif Saeed Memon, an associate fellow at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, writes in a Dawn.com opinion piece, "As a response to the attacks, the governments of Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa suspended the campaign for a short period, while the United Nations removed some of its field personnel until they could receive guarantees of better security."

18 Apr 2013

Pakistani Taliban deny responsibility for attacks on polio workers

"The Pakistani Taliban on Friday denied any involvement in attacks on polio workers, which have killed 21 people since December, but confirmed it opposed the vaccination as 'un-Islamic,'" Agence France-Presse reports.

16 Apr 2013

Lessons learned from India's polio response could help country combat other diseases

"More than 400 signatories to [a scientific declaration urging the world to eradicate polio], hailing from 80 countries, believe polio eradication is achievable in large part because of the great gains India has made against the disease," T. Jacob John, a retired professor of clinical virology at Christian Medical College in Vellore, India, writes in the Wall Street Journal's "India Real Time" blog.

16 Apr 2013

Pneumococcal vaccine: an interview with Graham Clarke, CEO ImmBio

The pathogen that we are talking about is called streptococcus pneumoniae. That is a fairly common bacteria and if you did a nasal swab you would find that quite a lot of people have this bacterium living in their nasal passages.

16 Apr 2013

Global commitment needed for polio eradication

"I have spent my career seeking to understand and tackling deadly viruses, from ebola to HIV. But polio stands out because, unlike these diseases, we already hold the key to its eradication: effective vaccines," Peter Piot, director and professor of global health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, writes in The Guardian's "Poverty Matters" blog.

15 Apr 2013

400 scientists from 80 countries sign Scientific Declaration on Polio Eradication

"Around 400 scientists from 80 countries have come together to declare that polio could be wiped off the face of the Earth in five years if plans to eliminate both wild and vaccine-derived polioviruses are implemented," SciDev.Net reports (Malhotra, 4/11).

15 Apr 2013

Gunman attacks police officers guarding polio vaccination team in Pakistan; One killed

"A gunman shot and killed one policeman and wounded another on Wednesday as they provided security for a team of polio eradication health workers in northwestern Pakistan, according to government officials," the New York Times reports (Masood, 4/10).

12 Apr 2013

Experts launch new strategy to eradicate polio by 2018

Hundreds of scientists, doctors and other experts from around the world launched the Scientific Declaration on Polio Eradication today, declaring that an end to the paralyzing disease is achievable and endorsing a comprehensive new strategy to secure a lasting polio-free world by 2018.

12 Apr 2013

U.S. should continue its investment in global polio eradication efforts

"All Americans should take pride in the fact that the world is on the verge of eradicating polio, and finishing the job for good has never been more achievable," Tufts Health Plan President and CEO James Roosevelt writes in The Hill's "Global Affairs" blog.

10 Apr 2013

Polio News and Research

Further Reading

Opinion pieces address polio eradication goal to be discussed at Global Vaccine Summit

Bill Gates reflects on Global Vaccine Summit in foundation blog

Partnership and accountability among countries will lead to global health successes

Experts call for better vaccine supply, logistics systems ahead of World Immunization Week

Britain to 'stand together' with other stakeholders to eradicate polio

Clinical Research Forum honors studies with potential to benefit human health and welfare

Penn researcher wins Distinguished Clinical Research Achievement Award for innovations in gene therapy

Penn Medicine gene therapy study receives Distinguished Clinical Research Achievement Award

Nature reports on efforts to vaccinate Nigeria's nomadic communities against polio

Global experts highlight strategies to immunize more children

Longer looks: The timely trauma response in Boston; Problems with aging doctors; Transplants from donors with HIV

International community seems powerless to stop attacks on polio workers

Pakistani Taliban deny responsibility for attacks on polio workers

Lessons learned from India's polio response could help country combat other diseases

Pneumococcal vaccine: an interview with Graham Clarke, CEO ImmBio

Global commitment needed for polio eradication

400 scientists from 80 countries sign Scientific Declaration on Polio Eradication

Gunman attacks police officers guarding polio vaccination team in Pakistan; One killed

Experts launch new strategy to eradicate polio by 2018

U.S. should continue its investment in global polio eradication efforts

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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