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Healthcare Market Analysis & Reports | What the world looks like in numbers
A decade free of wild paralytic poliovirus
Published on MedED: 25 August 21
Originally Published: Updated 12 April 2024
Source: Our World in Data
Type of article: Summary
MedED Catalogue Reference:
Category: Healthcare Analysis | What the world looks like in numbers
Cross-Category: Infectious Diseases | Public Health
Keywords: polio, wild poliovirus, endemic diseases
Wild polioviruses, distinct from vaccine-derived strains, were historically endemic across numerous nations. In 2001, 14 countries reported cases, dwindling to just three by 2021: Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Malawi. Previously, three strains existed, with types 2 and 3 now eradicated worldwide. The last type 2 case occurred in India in 1999, and the final type 3 case in Nigeria in 2012. WHO declared global eradication for type 2 in 2015 and type 3 in 2019. All reported cases since 2013 from wild polioviruses have been caused by wild poliovirus serotype 1. 1
Despite the costs, there are distinct benefits in working towards the eradication of the disease rather than a reduction. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) launched "The Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan 2013-2018" in 2013, requiring an extra $5.5 billion on top of the $9 billion already invested since 1988. The plan aims to fund final vaccination campaigns in endemic countries, preserve polio-free regions, and monitor for three years after the last case. Economic analyses project substantial gains post-eradication, estimated at $40-50 billion by Tebbens et al. (2010), though precise figures are challenging due to varied assumptions on economic values and timeframes.
Below is a visual representation of the most recent year in which a case of wild poliovirus was detected by country.
Original Article
“Data Page: The decade of the last recorded wild paralytic polio case”, part of the following publication: Esteban Ortiz-Ospina and Max Roser (2016) - “Global Health”. Data adapted from Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/the-decade-of-the-last-recorded-case-of-paralytic-polio-by-country [online resource]
Associated Stories
4 August 2024: World Health Organisation issues notice of outbreak of vaccine-derived polio circulating in Kenya and Tanzania
References
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