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.

Implications of eradicating polio, or failing to do so, go beyond public health

In this Atlantic opinion piece, Rachel Hills, a freelance writer based in London, examines the WHO's decision on May 25 to declare polio a public health emergency, "calling for the 194 member states to fully fund the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, and fill the currently $945 million gap in its budget for 2012-13."

31 May 2012

CIA's use of health workers in intelligence operations could hurt 'innocent people'

"The CIA's vaccination gambit put at risk something very precious -- the integrity of public health programs in Pakistan and around the globe" and has "also added to the dangers facing nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in a world that's increasingly hostile to U.S. aid organizations," opinion writer David Ignatius writes in a Washington Post opinion piece.

31 May 2012

ONPRC researchers discover new method to create safe and effective vaccines

While vaccines are perhaps medicine's most important success story, there is always room for improvement. Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University's Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC) appear to have done just that.

30 May 2012

Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly covers some of the biggest challenges facing public health

The Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly concluded Saturday after adopting 21 resolutions and three decisions on a broad range of health issues. The six days of discussions involved nearly 3000 delegates, including health ministers and senior health officials from amongst the 194 WHO Member States, as well as representatives from civil society and other stakeholders.

28 May 2012

World Health Assembly endorses Global Vaccine Action Plan

Ministers of Health from 194 countries at the Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly today endorsed a landmark Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP), a roadmap to prevent millions of deaths by 2020 through more equitable access to existing vaccines for people in all communities.

28 May 2012

Muslim women, religious leaders being enlisted in global campaign to eradicate polio

"The last three countries where polio is still paralyzing children -- Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria -- said on Thursday that they have enlisted Muslim women and religious leaders to allay fears of vaccination and wipe out the disease," Reuters reports.

25 May 2012

Polio eradication must not fail

"[P]eople everywhere have a stake in eradicating polio, as we have stamped out smallpox," a Bloomberg View editorial states, adding, "Immunizing the last unvaccinated children on the planet is an expensive and complex undertaking, and worth it in the long run."

25 May 2012

Researchers uncover series of biological events that implicate stem cells' surroundings

Stem cells are essential building blocks for all organisms, from plants to humans. They can divide and renew themselves throughout life, differentiating into the specialized tissues needed during development, as well as cells necessary to repair adult tissue.

25 May 2012

Global Polio Eradication initiative launches 'emergency action plan'

"A global initiative to rid the world of polio launched an emergency action plan on Thursday because gaps in funding and vaccination coverage threaten to derail a final push towards stamping out the paralyzing disease," AlertNet reports.

25 May 2012

International community must organize, commit financial resources to win war on polio

In this editorial in the International Herald Tribune's "Express Tribune," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon examines the global push to eradicate polio, highlighting progress in the "world's war on polio" since it was declared nearly a quarter century ago but warning that "we are in danger of falling victim to our own success," as "the world is now populated by a generation which has either never been exposed to polio or has been inadequately vaccinated."

19 May 2012

Regular eating times, extended daily fasting may prevent diabetes, obesity

It turns out that when we eat may be as important as what we eat. Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have found that regular eating times and extending the daily fasting period may override the adverse health effects of a high-fat diet and prevent obesity, diabetes and liver disease in mice.

18 May 2012

Haitian government, health workers show commitment to nationwide vaccination campaign

In this post in the Huffington Post Blog, Dagfinn Hoybraten, vice president of the Norwegian Parliament and chair of the GAVI Alliance Board, examines a nationwide vaccination campaign in Haiti, through which "health officials are targeting measles, rubella and polio and [are] also introducing pentavalent vaccine, one shot against five diseases."

17 May 2012

IMC to support government of Chad in polio eradication activities

International Medical Corps will immediately scale up its support to the government of Chad in polio eradication activities through a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

17 May 2012

Antibody that neutralizes enzyme Kallikrein 6 staves off MS

Researchers studying multiple sclerosis(MS) have long been looking for the specific molecules in the body that cause lesions in myelin, the fatty, insulating cells that sheathe the nerves.

30 Apr 2012

U.N. SG Ban commends India for working to improve public health

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday during travel to India met with Indian Minister of Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nazi Azad and "commend[ed] the country's progress on health," its "continued efforts towards achieving universal health coverage," and its "commitment to the Global Strategy on Women's and Children's Health," highlighting "its innovative programs in this area" and "the need to do more to promote the well-being of women and children," the U.N. News Centre reports.

27 Apr 2012

Blogs examine malaria fight in recognition of World Malaria Day

Wednesday, April 25, marked World Malaria Day, which this year had the theme "Sustain Gains, Save Lives: Invest in Malaria."

27 Apr 2012

Ghana rolls out vaccines against pneumonia and diarrhoea

Ghana has become the first African country to introduce pneumococcal and rotavirus vaccines at the same time, simultaneously tackling the leading causes of the world’s two biggest childhood killers – pneumonia and diarrhoea.

26 Apr 2012

Scientists identify linchpin of fat metabolism

Humans are built to hunger for fat, packing it on during times of feast and burning it during periods of famine. But when deluged by foods rich in fat and sugar, the modern waistline often far exceeds the need to store energy for lean times, and the result has been an epidemic of diabetes, heart disease and other obesity-related problems.

26 Apr 2012

Clinical and Translational Science Institute-Children's National awards pilot grant to GW researchers

GW researchers in the School of Medicine, Jeffrey M. Bethony, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine and David Diemert, M.D., FRCP(C), Associate Research Professor of Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine and Director of Clinical Trials for the Sabin Vaccine Institute's Product Development Partnership (PDP), have been awarded a Pilot Grant from the Clinical and Translational Science Institute-Children's National.

25 Apr 2012

Nigeria's first-ever national Vaccine Summit addresses child mortality burden

Nigeria's top government officials, civil society leaders and leaders of private industry resolved today to join forces to expand vaccine access nationwide, a major step in the fight to reduce child mortality in a country with the world's second highest number of child deaths.

24 Apr 2012

Polio News and Research

Further Reading

Implications of eradicating polio, or failing to do so, go beyond public health

CIA's use of health workers in intelligence operations could hurt 'innocent people'

ONPRC researchers discover new method to create safe and effective vaccines

Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly covers some of the biggest challenges facing public health

World Health Assembly endorses Global Vaccine Action Plan

Muslim women, religious leaders being enlisted in global campaign to eradicate polio

Polio eradication must not fail

Researchers uncover series of biological events that implicate stem cells' surroundings

Global Polio Eradication initiative launches 'emergency action plan'

International community must organize, commit financial resources to win war on polio

Regular eating times, extended daily fasting may prevent diabetes, obesity

Haitian government, health workers show commitment to nationwide vaccination campaign

IMC to support government of Chad in polio eradication activities

Antibody that neutralizes enzyme Kallikrein 6 staves off MS

U.N. SG Ban commends India for working to improve public health

Blogs examine malaria fight in recognition of World Malaria Day

Ghana rolls out vaccines against pneumonia and diarrhoea

Scientists identify linchpin of fat metabolism

Clinical and Translational Science Institute-Children's National awards pilot grant to GW researchers

Nigeria's first-ever national Vaccine Summit addresses child mortality burden

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