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.

International community must ensure political will, financial support necessary to eradicate polio

"Last month, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon convened a group of global leaders, including [Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Co-Chair] Bill Gates and heads of state of polio-affected countries, to renew the commitment to eliminate polio," William Keenan, executive director of the International Pediatric Association, and Robert Block, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, note in the Huffington Post's "Global Motherhood" blog.

24 Oct 2012

Examining ethics surrounding Taliban's ban on polio vaccination in Pakistan

Writing in the Global Bioethics Blog, Stuart Rennie, a bioethics researcher and professor, notes another polio worker was killed in Pakistan last week and describes Taliban opposition to U.S.-supported polio vaccination efforts in Pakistan.

23 Oct 2012

Sierra Leone kicks off four-day polio vaccination drive targeting 1.3M children under 5

"Over 70,000 health workers and community volunteers were combing the streets and jungle paths in Sierra Leone Friday at the start of a vaccination program targeting young children in the West African country," Agence France-Presse reports.

23 Oct 2012

Glioblastoma multiforme can originate from cortical neurons

Scientists have long believed that glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most aggressive type of primary brain tumor, begins in glial cells that make up supportive tissue in the brain or in neural stem cells. In a paper published October 18 in Science Express, however, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have found that the tumors can originate from other types of differentiated cells in the nervous system, including cortical neurons.

23 Oct 2012

Researchers identify crucial stage in the lifecycle of simple viruses

Researchers at the University of Leeds have identified a crucial stage in the lifecycle of simple viruses like polio and the common cold that could open a new front in the war on viral disease.

20 Oct 2012

NPR series on polio examines efforts to fight disease in India

In its ongoing series examining efforts to eradicate polio, NPR's "All Things Considered" on Thursday examined India's continuing efforts to stamp out the disease, noting the country "marked a milestone when the World Health Organization struck it from the list of polio-endemic countries in February after no new cases were reported for more than a year."

20 Oct 2012

Stem cell study may help to unravel how genetic mutation leads to Parkinson's symptoms

By reprogramming skin cells from Parkinson's disease patients with a known genetic mutation, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified damage to neural stem cells as a powerful player in the disease.

20 Oct 2012

NPR series on polio examines efforts to fight disease in Pakistan

In its ongoing series examining efforts to eradicate polio, NPR's "All Things Considered" aired a story on Wednesday looking at how health care workers in Pakistan are attempting to overcome challenges to immunizing the child population.

19 Oct 2012

Political will, humanitarian effort, funding all needed to eradicate polio

Though "conflict and insecurity problems in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria have presented challenges to polio immunization, ... these are surmountable obstacles," Siddharth Chatterjee, chief diplomat and head of strategic partnerships and international relations at the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, writes in the International Peace Institute's Global Observatory.

19 Oct 2012

NPR examines efforts to eradicate polio in Nigeria

NPR's "Shots" blog reports on efforts to eradicate polio in Nigeria. "[N]orthern Nigeria is the only place in the world where polio cases are increasing," the blog writes, noting, "As of Sept. 1, it had recorded 90 polio cases in 2012 -- or nearly three times as many as in the same period last year."

18 Oct 2012

NPR begins series on polio eradication

NPR's "Shots" blog on Monday began a series of stories "reporting on the fight to eradicate the last few pockets of polio," which begins "with a look back at how the U.S. and the rest of the world wiped out the virus for good."

17 Oct 2012

Leading scientists select first drugs to be evaluated in Alzheimer's clinical study

Leading scientists have selected the first drugs to be evaluated in a worldwide clinical study to determine whether they can prevent Alzheimer's disease.

11 Oct 2012

Polio vaccination campaign in Darfur shows immunizations possible in 'emergency and conflict settings'

In an Inter Press Service opinion piece, Siddharth Chatterjee, chief diplomat and head of strategic partnerships at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and Sam Agbo, an independent public health adviser in the U.K., write about the unstable situation in Darfur, Sudan, in 2004, and how "UNICEF and WHO in Sudan along with important NGO partners started planning with local authorities on how best to immunize all children in Darfur."

9 Oct 2012

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health epidemiologist receives Dean's Medal honor

Michael J. Klag, MD, MPH, dean of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, has awarded the Dean's Medal-the School's highest honor-to William Foege, MD, MPH. Foege is a celebrated epidemiologist and physician who played a leading role in many of the important public health campaigns of the past half-century, including efforts to eradicate smallpox and to control onchocerciasis (the cause of river blindness) and guinea worm.

8 Oct 2012

NPR's 'Morning Edition' reports on increasing number of polio cases in Nigeria

NPR's "Morning Edition" host Steve Inskeep on Monday interviewed reporter Jason Beaubien, who is traveling in northern Nigeria, about the country's increase in polio cases this year. Beaubien discussed myths and fears surrounding polio vaccination in Nigeria, including beliefs that the immunization will sterilize children, but also said one of the most encouraging things ... is that the religious leaders in northern Nigeria are now really united.

3 Oct 2012

News outlets examine challenges to fighting polio in Pakistan, Nigeria

In Pakistan, one of only three nations worldwide where polio remains endemic, "rumors and conspiracy theories about the vaccine ... have helped the country maintain its unenviable status," recording 91 cases of the disease in 2011, Agence France-Presse reports.

2 Oct 2012

World leaders unite behind global polio eradication efforts at U.N. General Assembly

Political leaders, donor representatives, and medical experts on Thursday met on the sidelines of the 67th U.N. General Assembly session "to celebrate polio eradication efforts that have already reduced the incidence of the crippling and potentially fatal disease by 99 percent around the globe," the U.N. News Centre reports.

29 Sep 2012

World working together to end polio

In a post on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, foundation Co-Chair Bill Gates writes about traveling to New York this week to deliver a speech to the U.N. on polio eradication, one of the top five global health priorities as described by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

27 Sep 2012

Scientists identify unique molecular signature in iPSCs that show promise in regenerative medicine

Salk scientists have identified a unique molecular signature in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), "reprogrammed" cells that show great promise in regenerative medicine thanks to their ability to generate a range of body tissues.

20 Sep 2012

WHO says Nigeria not on track to turn back polio despite having tools, capacity

"The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday said Nigeria was not on track in the effort to eradicate wild polio virus before the end of December this year," Leadership/AllAfrica.com reports.

13 Sep 2012

Polio News and Research

Further Reading

International community must ensure political will, financial support necessary to eradicate polio

Examining ethics surrounding Taliban's ban on polio vaccination in Pakistan

Sierra Leone kicks off four-day polio vaccination drive targeting 1.3M children under 5

Glioblastoma multiforme can originate from cortical neurons

Researchers identify crucial stage in the lifecycle of simple viruses

NPR series on polio examines efforts to fight disease in India

Stem cell study may help to unravel how genetic mutation leads to Parkinson's symptoms

NPR series on polio examines efforts to fight disease in Pakistan

Political will, humanitarian effort, funding all needed to eradicate polio

NPR examines efforts to eradicate polio in Nigeria

NPR begins series on polio eradication

Leading scientists select first drugs to be evaluated in Alzheimer's clinical study

Polio vaccination campaign in Darfur shows immunizations possible in 'emergency and conflict settings'

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health epidemiologist receives Dean's Medal honor

NPR's 'Morning Edition' reports on increasing number of polio cases in Nigeria

News outlets examine challenges to fighting polio in Pakistan, Nigeria

World leaders unite behind global polio eradication efforts at U.N. General Assembly

World working together to end polio

Scientists identify unique molecular signature in iPSCs that show promise in regenerative medicine

WHO says Nigeria not on track to turn back polio despite having tools, capacity

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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