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May 20, 2002

INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Polio Could be Gone by 2004, Agencies Say"

Los Angeles Times (www.latimes.com) (05/19/02) P. 5A; Orme, William

All that is needed to eradicate polio forever within 20 months is the continued cooperation and collaborative efforts among the world's poorest and most turbulent countries and $275 million in funding, according to Bob Keegan, deputy director of the global immunization division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  In 1988, a new anti-polio drive by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund determined that there were 350,000 new cases of the disease in 125 countries.  Billions of dollars were invested in a global immunization campaign which, by 2001, reduced that figure to just 480 new cases in 10 nations, where the United Nations is now targeting its efforts.  Dr. Ciro de Quadros, a polio specialist with the WHO, said that the constant vaccinating and re-vaccinating is bringing the end of the disease, but regional strife, dense populations, and other issues make the target regions particularly tough on success.  He remains confident that if the necessary funding is found, the deadly disease will soon join smallpox in existing only as a sample culture in research laboratories by the end of 2003.  Though there is still no cure for the disease, polio can be prevented by the administering of four doses of a relatively inexpensive vaccine which can protect a child for an entire lifetime from it's possible fatal or paralytic consequences.  Several European governments, the United States, and Japan have all increased their donations to the United Nation's Global Polio Eradication Initiative.  So has the Rotary International Organization, which has been, thus far, the initiative's largest private supporter.

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