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.

7 more health workers killed in Pakistan in attacks suspected to be linked to murders of polio vaccinators

"Gunmen ambushed and shot dead six Pakistani women aid workers and a male doctor on Tuesday, police said, and the charity they worked for said it suspected the attacks were linked to recent murders of polio vaccination workers," Reuters reports.

2 Jan 2013

Pakistan reports 9th death in polio worker attacks, resumes vaccination campaign under police escort

"Another victim from attacks on U.N.-backed anti-polio teams in Pakistan died on Thursday, bringing the three-day death toll in the wave of assaults on volunteers vaccinating children across the country to nine, officials said," the Associated Press reports (Khan, 12/20). "Four female health workers were killed in Karachi, shot dead by masked men on motorbikes.

21 Dec 2012

Nigeria can eradicate polio with international support

"Nigeria is one of only three countries -- along with Afghanistan and Pakistan -- that remains blighted by polio," Aliko Dangote, founder and CEO of the Dangote Group and chair of the Dangote Foundation, writes in a Project Syndicate opinion piece.

21 Dec 2012

Blogs respond to attacks against polio workers in Pakistan

The following blog posts were published in response to a series of attacks against polio workers in Pakistan this week, which have left eight dead since Monday.

21 Dec 2012

International community condemns attacks on polio workers in Pakistan

"U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling the killing of health workers trying to vaccinate Pakistani children against polio in a U.N.-backed campaign 'cruel, senseless and inexcusable,'" the Associated Press reports, noting, "Ban said at his year-end news conference on Wednesday that the eight killed were among thousands across Pakistan 'working selflessly to achieve the historic goal of polio eradication.'"

21 Dec 2012

Three more polio workers shot in Pakistan

"Three workers in a polio eradication campaign were shot in Pakistan on Wednesday, and two of them were killed, the latest in an unprecedented string of attacks over the past three days that has partially halted the U.N.-backed campaign," Reuters reports.

20 Dec 2012

Australian scientists receive grants for research on cancer, malaria and rheumatoid arthritis

Scientists at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne, Australia, have received more than $16 million in Australian Government funding to pursue research into cancer, malaria, rheumatoid arthritis and the immune system, it was announced today.

19 Dec 2012

CSIS paper examines U.S. role in global polio eradication

The Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) has published a paper, titled "The U.S. Role In Global Polio Eradication," that "provides an overview of the global polio eradication effort, emphasizing the U.S. role," according to the paper's summary. t forward."

19 Dec 2012

Global Burden of Disease Study finds people worldwide living longer, but with more illness, disability

"A sharp decline in deaths from malnutrition and infectious diseases like measles and tuberculosis has caused a shift in global mortality patterns over the past 20 years, according to a study released on Thursday, with far more of the world's population now living into old age and dying from diseases mostly associated with rich countries, like cancer and heart disease," the New York Times reports.

15 Dec 2012

Scientists determine specific genetic switches that sync liver activity to the circadian cycle

When it's dark, and we start to fall asleep, most of us think we're tired because our bodies need rest. Yet circadian rhythms affect our bodies not just on a global scale, but at the level of individual organs, and even genes.

12 Dec 2012

Strengthen health systems to integrate polio vaccinations into routine childhood immunizations, Save the Children report says

Speaking at the GAVI Partners Forum in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, David Olayemi, senior program adviser at Save the Children in Abuja, Nigeria, said fewer than half of children in Nigeria are receiving routine immunizations for diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough (DTP), and the rate is dropping, Guardian health editor Sarah Boseley reports in her "Global Health Blog."

7 Dec 2012

Vaccine-derived polio outbreak shows gaps in immunization coverage in Pakistan

Though "Pakistan has made a lot of progress this year in wiping out polio," a "recent outbreak of polio there has health officials concerned about the overall effectiveness of the effort to eliminate polio in that country," NPR's "Shots" blog reports.

6 Dec 2012

New method promises to boost stem cell production in laboratory

A new method for generating stem cells from mature cells promises to boost stem cell production in the laboratory, helping to remove a barrier to regenerative medicine therapies that would replace damaged or unhealthy body tissues.

5 Dec 2012

Showing progress in the 'decade of vaccines'

In a post on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, Christopher Elias, president of global development at the foundation, discusses progress on "the Decade of Vaccines, a vision and commitment to reach all people with the vaccines they need."

4 Dec 2012

Nearly 63,000 people visit online catch-up immunization scheduling tool

Children obtain protection against certain diseases by receiving vaccinations, but they commonly miss recommended times to receive these immunizations. Once a child falls behind, health care professionals typically have to construct a unique, personalized catch-up schedule for each child - often while the child waits in the treatment room.

29 Nov 2012

Diptheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine: an interview with Dr. Rudi Eggers, World Health Organisation

The Diptheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine is sometimes also called the “triple vaccine” and has been around for about 50 years, and it protects against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis. These are serious diseases caused by bacteria.

28 Nov 2012

Microneedle-based measles vaccine can immunize against measles

Measles vaccine given with painless and easy-to-administer microneedle patches can immunize against measles at least as well as vaccine given with conventional hypodermic needles, according to research done by the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

28 Nov 2012

Global Polio Eradication Initiative IMB report optimistic but warns of possible polio resurgence in 2013

Though there is "significant risk" of a resurgence of polio in 2013, a new report from the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) is optimistic about the eradication of the disease, noting that 99.9 percent of polio has been stopped worldwide, with 175 cases reported so far in 2012 compared with 350,000 reported in 1988, BBC News reports.

28 Nov 2012

Global health programs need to address community needs

A "key problem" in reaching the goal of polio elimination "may well be that organizers of the global anti-polio initiative, and of other global health programs, are not listening to the people they want to help -- or to each other," Thomas Abraham, an associate professor in the Journalism and Media Studies Center at the University of Hong Kong, writes in a New York Times opinion piece.

21 Nov 2012

Washington Post examines polio eradication efforts in Pakistan

The Washington Post reports on polio eradication efforts in Pakistan, writing, "[O]verall trends in Pakistan, where nearly 30 million children have been vaccinated in recent years, are encouraging."

20 Nov 2012

Polio News and Research

Further Reading

7 more health workers killed in Pakistan in attacks suspected to be linked to murders of polio vaccinators

Pakistan reports 9th death in polio worker attacks, resumes vaccination campaign under police escort

Nigeria can eradicate polio with international support

Blogs respond to attacks against polio workers in Pakistan

International community condemns attacks on polio workers in Pakistan

Three more polio workers shot in Pakistan

Australian scientists receive grants for research on cancer, malaria and rheumatoid arthritis

CSIS paper examines U.S. role in global polio eradication

Global Burden of Disease Study finds people worldwide living longer, but with more illness, disability

Scientists determine specific genetic switches that sync liver activity to the circadian cycle

Strengthen health systems to integrate polio vaccinations into routine childhood immunizations, Save the Children report says

Vaccine-derived polio outbreak shows gaps in immunization coverage in Pakistan

New method promises to boost stem cell production in laboratory

Showing progress in the 'decade of vaccines'

Nearly 63,000 people visit online catch-up immunization scheduling tool

Diptheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine: an interview with Dr. Rudi Eggers, World Health Organisation

Microneedle-based measles vaccine can immunize against measles

Global Polio Eradication Initiative IMB report optimistic but warns of possible polio resurgence in 2013

Global health programs need to address community needs

Washington Post examines polio eradication efforts in Pakistan

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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