26/03/04

Polio: cornered but not yet defeated

We encourage you to republish this article online and in print, it’s free under our creative commons attribution license, but please follow some simple guidelines:

You have to credit our authors.
You have to credit SciDev.Net — where possible include our logo with a link back to the original article.
You can simply run the first few lines of the article and then add: “Read the full article on SciDev.Net” containing a link back to the original article.
If you want to also take images published in this story you will need to confirm with the original source if you're licensed to use them.
The easiest way to get the article on your site is to embed the code below.

For more information view our media page and republishing guidelines.

The full article is available here as HTML.

Press Ctrl-C to copy

<div class="article-wrap">
<div id="article-introduction">
<h1>Polio: cornered but not yet defeated</h1>
<h4></h4>
</div>
<br />
<br />

<div id="article-body">
<p><P>The current global campaign to eradicate the polio virus has had its share of setbacks: overspending, difficult logistics and outbreaks caused by the vaccine itself. Since 2003, with a new director at the World Health Organization and a big cash injection, the campaign has progress steadily; but the final stages may be the most difficult. </P><br />
<P>In this article, Leslie Roberts reveals how the eradication campaign — a joint effort by the WHO, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Rotary International and UNICEF — is now gearing up for a final assault on the paralysing enterovirus. The problem is that it has retreated to the poorest, most crowded and unsanitary corners of the world, including Nigeria, India, Pakistan and Egypt. </P><br />
<P>So while the technical ability, manpower, and funds are all in place, the campaign still faces formidable political, cultural and social hurdles in the world’s last polio hotspots.</P><br />
<P><a  href="/sci.cfm?redir=http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/303/5666/1960?ijkey=cpzXLo/j7lnYQ&keytype=ref&siteid=sci" target="_blank" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/tracking/external/'+this.href);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Link to full feature in Science</A><em>  </em></P>Reference: <em>Science</em> 303, 1960 (2004)</p>

</div>
<div class="quick-links-wrapper">
<h3>You might also like</h3>
[related-articles]
</div>
<p>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.scidev.net" target="_blank">SciDev.Net</a>. Read the <a href="https://www.scidev.net/global/features/polio-cornered-but-not-yet-defeated/" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p>
<script type="text/javascript">
(function(e,t,n,r,i,s,o){e["GoogleAnalyticsObject"]=i;e[i]=e[i]||function(){(e[i].q=e[i].q||[]).push(arguments)},e[i].l=1*new Date;s=t.createElement(n),o=t.getElementsByTagName(n)[0];s.async=1;s.src=r;o.parentNode.insertBefore(s,o)})(window,document,"script","//www.google-analytics.com/ga.js","ga");var _gaq=_gaq||[];var _gaq=_gaq||[];_gaq.push(["_setAccount","UA-3223906-8"],["_trackEvent","article interaction","republished","https://www.scidev.net/global/features/polio-cornered-but-not-yet-defeated/",null,true])
</script>
</div>

The current global campaign to eradicate the polio virus has had its share of setbacks: overspending, difficult logistics and outbreaks caused by the vaccine itself. Since 2003, with a new director at the World Health Organization and a big cash injection, the campaign has progress steadily; but the final stages may be the most difficult.

In this article, Leslie Roberts reveals how the eradication campaign — a joint effort by the WHO, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Rotary International and UNICEF — is now gearing up for a final assault on the paralysing enterovirus. The problem is that it has retreated to the poorest, most crowded and unsanitary corners of the world, including Nigeria, India, Pakistan and Egypt.

So while the technical ability, manpower, and funds are all in place, the campaign still faces formidable political, cultural and social hurdles in the world’s last polio hotspots.

Link to full feature in Science

Reference: Science 303, 1960 (2004)