Thu Dec 26 17:18:31 UTC 2024: ## Polio Resurgence Highlights Debate Over Vaccine Strategy
**New Delhi, India – December 26, 2024** – A resurgence of polio cases globally is raising concerns and reigniting the debate over the most effective vaccination strategy. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported the detection of poliovirus in wastewater samples across five European countries (Finland, Germany, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom), as well as confirmed cases in several other nations including Pakistan, Cameroon, Cote D’Ivoire, Chad, and Nigeria. While no human cases have been detected in the European countries, the WHO stresses the importance of continued vaccination and surveillance.
The resurgence involves both wild poliovirus (WPV) and circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2), the latter linked to a strain originating in Nigeria. Although countries with detected viruses maintain high routine immunization coverage (85-95%), pockets of undervaccination remain a concern.
This renewed threat has brought to the forefront a paper published in *Infectious Diseases* challenging the long-held belief that polio is primarily transmitted through the faecal-oral route. The authors, including Dr. T. Jacob John, a retired professor of virology, argue that respiratory transmission is the dominant mode. They contend that the continued use of the oral polio vaccine (OPV), which can lead to vaccine-derived polioviruses, is hindering eradication efforts. They advocate for a complete switch to the injectable polio vaccine (IPV), which is non-transmissible, as the only way to achieve global polio eradication. Dr. John has long asserted that OPV is suitable for “polio control” but not “polio eradication”. The authors believe that a global shift to IPV, along with the phasing out of OPV, is crucial to eliminate the risk of polio. The WHO is supporting national investigations and monitoring to address any immunity gaps and ensure vaccination of vulnerable children.
First Piper 