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.

Serious funding shortfalls jeopardize UNICEF's humanitarian operation in Pakistan

UNICEF warned today that serious funding shortfalls are jeopardizing its humanitarian operation in Pakistan. UNICEF is extremely concerned at the lack of funds for its water and sanitation operation, with millions of children at risk from water-borne diseases.

18 Aug 2010

August is National Immunization and Cataract Awareness Month

Childhood immunizations keep our children safe from a number of serious diseases. This is a good time of year to make sure your child is up-to-date on all of his/her immunizations. Continue reading to find out which vaccines the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend for children 6 and under.

16 Aug 2010

U.S. increases Pakistan flood aid contribution; Sen. Kerry to visit flood-hit Pakistan

"On assistance to Pakistan, to date, approximately $76 million in assistance has been provided by the U.S. to the flood-affected populations in Pakistan," Mark Toner, acting deputy spokesman for the State Department, said at a press briefing on Thursday, according to a transcript. "As of this morning, the additional money that the U.S. is providing is to Save the Children, and that's 4.1 million that will be used for food vouchers, enabling flood victims to purchase food in their local markets," he said.

16 Aug 2010

Myths and realities of Medicare bidding program for durable medical equipment

Providers of home medical equipment and services across California are proposing a fiscally responsible alternative to the mislabeled "competitive" bidding scheme currently under way in Medicare that will actually discourage competition, reduce access to care for many of California's 4.6 million Medicare beneficiaries, and put thousands of California homecare providers out of business.

7 Aug 2010

Boston Globe examines rise of polio in Tajikistan, other pockets of world

"Polio has reappeared in a corner of the world that had not seen cases in years - Tajikistan, the former Soviet republic - a chilling setback in the two-decade campaign to purge a dreaded cause of childhood paralysis from the planet," the Boston Globe reports in a story that examines the reemergence of polio in other areas of the world.

7 Aug 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

According to a Lancet Comment, "alcohol remains conspicuously absent from the larger field of research and programming in HIV and substance use. ... Patterns of hazardous alcohol consumption prevail in countries with the most severe HIV epidemics, notably eastern and southern Africa." In addition, "hazardous drinking patterns also dominate in the concentrated epidemics of eastern Europe and Asia, where alcohol use by injecting drug users and other marginalised groups might be an additional barrier to effective efforts to prevent HIV infection."

7 Aug 2010

WHO provides medicines, related health supplies to flood-affected areas in Pakistan

The worst floods on record in Pakistan are placing the health of hundreds of thousands of people at risk, with a high threat of waterborne disease outbreaks and immense damage to health facilities. WHO is coordinating the response of health partners and supporting Pakistani authorities by sending medicines and related health supplies capable of treating more than 200 000 people to the affected areas in the northwestern region of the country.

4 Aug 2010

East Africa declared polio-free again after outbreak

"Eastern Africa is free of polio again, with four countries - Ethiopia , Kenya, Sudan and Uganda - having reported no cases of the crippling disease for more than a year, U.N. and other aid agencies said on Friday," Reuters reports (7/30). The WHO "said the region had responded fast to the outbreak," according to the Daily Monitor. The article reports that the four countries now "join neighbouring Somalia which has been polio free for the last three years" (Lirri, 8/2).

3 Aug 2010

Polio cases in India lowest in a decade; Vaccination effort begins in Afghanistan

This year "India has reported the lowest number of polio cases in [the] January-June period ... in a decade," PTI/ZeeTV reports. Twenty-four cases were detected between January and June this year, compared to 151 in the corresponding 2009 period, and 317 in January-June 2008 (7/29).

30 Jul 2010

JHM, All Children's Hospital sign letter of intent to integrate

Johns Hopkins Medicine and All Children's Hospital & Health System of St. Petersburg, Fla., have signed a letter of intent to integrate. After appropriate due diligence is completed sometime later this year, ACH will join the Johns Hopkins Health System (JHHS) as a fully integrated member of JHM.

21 Jul 2010

Vaccine manufacturers may be able to produce lower-cost HPV vaccines, say researchers

Vaccine manufacturers in India and other developing countries may be able to produce a lower-cost HPV vaccine in spite of the complicated array of patent protections on the technology, say researchers at the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy. At a cost of at least $300 for the three-dose regimen, the blockbuster HPV vaccines, including Gardasil- from Merck and Cervarix- from GlaxoSmithKline, are some of the most expensive ever introduced.

12 Jul 2010

Research may provide key to understanding interplay between exercise, aging and neurogenesis

Stem cells in the brain remain dormant until called upon to divide and make more neurons. However, little has been known about the molecular guards that keep them quiet.

2 Jul 2010

American Abroad Media examines intersection of religion and public health in Africa

American Abroad Media examines how religious groups and leaders are dealing with public health issues in Africa. The program consists of five segments.

2 Jul 2010

Grifols to acquire Pharmalink's Xepol programme for post-polio syndrome

Pharmalink AB, today announced that it has closed its agreement with Grifols SA for the acquisition of Pharmalink's Xepol(R) programme for the treatment of post-polio syndrome (PPS). The parties had previously announced reaching an agreement whereby Grifols would acquire all know-how and global intellectual property rights related to the use of human immunoglobulin for the treatment of (PPS) - the concept at the heart of the Xepol programme.

30 Jun 2010

G8 nations commit $5B for maternal, child health; Additional $2.3B committed from other countries, foundations

G8 nations, plus other countries and private organizations, have committed at total of $7.3 billion to improve maternal and child health in the developing world, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Friday at the group's summit in Canada's Muskoka region, All Headline News reports (6/26).

29 Jun 2010

Editors of Canadian Medical Association Journal warn polio outbreak in Tajikistan could spread

"A large polio outbreak in Tajikistan - Europe's first in years - has the potential to further spread the dangerous virus to other regions of the world, the [editors of] the Canadian Medical Association Journal [CMAJ] warned Wednesday" in an editorial appearing in the journal, the Canadian Press reports.

25 Jun 2010

Rapidly growing polio outbreak in Tajikistan raises serious concerns, states CMAJ

The rapidly growing polio outbreak in Tajikistan raises serious concerns that the disease could spread to other regions in the world, states an editorial http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/doi/10.1503/cmaj.100831 in CMAJ. It is imperative that health agencies attempt to limit further spread by ensuring high vaccination rates.

24 Jun 2010

Report says G8 countries short $10B on $50B commitment, reveals mixed progress on health goals

An accountability report, prepared by officials in G8 member countries' foreign affairs departments, acknowledges that G8 "countries are $10 billion behind the five-year, $50-billion commitment they made at their 2005 summit in Scotland," the Canadian Press/CTV News reports (6/20).

22 Jun 2010

Health leaders formally launch new strategy for polio eradication

Health leaders from around the world gathered on Friday to formally launch a new strategy for eradicating polio, Newsweek's "The Human Condition" blog reports in a post examining the challenges and successes health advocates face in attempting to wipe the virus out completely (Carmichael, 6/18).

22 Jun 2010

USAID pledges $1.2M in support for national polio vaccination campaigns across Central Asia

The United States Agency for International Development has pledged $1.2 million in support for national poliomyelitis vaccination campaigns across Central Asia to fight the first outbreak of polio in the region since 2002.

19 Jun 2010

Polio News and Research

Further Reading

Serious funding shortfalls jeopardize UNICEF's humanitarian operation in Pakistan

August is National Immunization and Cataract Awareness Month

U.S. increases Pakistan flood aid contribution; Sen. Kerry to visit flood-hit Pakistan

Myths and realities of Medicare bidding program for durable medical equipment

Boston Globe examines rise of polio in Tajikistan, other pockets of world

Recent releases in Global Health

WHO provides medicines, related health supplies to flood-affected areas in Pakistan

East Africa declared polio-free again after outbreak

Polio cases in India lowest in a decade; Vaccination effort begins in Afghanistan

JHM, All Children's Hospital sign letter of intent to integrate

Vaccine manufacturers may be able to produce lower-cost HPV vaccines, say researchers

Research may provide key to understanding interplay between exercise, aging and neurogenesis

American Abroad Media examines intersection of religion and public health in Africa

Grifols to acquire Pharmalink's Xepol programme for post-polio syndrome

G8 nations commit $5B for maternal, child health; Additional $2.3B committed from other countries, foundations

Editors of Canadian Medical Association Journal warn polio outbreak in Tajikistan could spread

Rapidly growing polio outbreak in Tajikistan raises serious concerns, states CMAJ

Report says G8 countries short $10B on $50B commitment, reveals mixed progress on health goals

Health leaders formally launch new strategy for polio eradication

USAID pledges $1.2M in support for national polio vaccination campaigns across Central Asia

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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