Sansad TV Perspective: Is Polio Making a Comeback?

In the series Sansad TV Perspective, we bring you an analysis of the discussion featured on the insightful programme ‘Perspective’ on Sansad TV, on various important topics affecting India and also the world. This analysis will help you immensely for the IAS exam, especially the mains exam, where a well-rounded understanding of topics is a prerequisite for writing answers that fetch good marks.

In this article, we feature the discussion on the topic: Is Polio Making a Comeback?

Anchor: Teena Jha

Guests:

1.  Dr. Sanjay K. Rai, National President, Indian Public Health Association
2.  Dr. Ravi Godse, Internal Medicine Specialist, Western Pennsylvania Hospital
3.  Dr. Raman Gangakhedkar, Dr. C.G. Pandit National Chair, ICMR

Context: Polio virus cases are reported in cities like New York, London and Jerusalem, for the first time in decades.

Highlights of the discussion:

• Introduction  
• Reasons for re-occurrence
• India’s efforts in eradicating the disease
• Views on severity of the problem
• Way Ahead

Introduction:

•  In 2022 alone, 177 cases of polio have been reported.
• The dreaded disease killed or paralyzed over half a million people every year around the world for the first half of the 20th century.
• It affects mainly children under five.
• It is often asymptomatic but can also cause symptoms including fever and vomiting. 
• Around one in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis, and among those patients, up to 10% die. 
• Due to mass vaccinations globally, the wild form of the disease has disappeared. 
• It remains endemic in just about two countries – Afghanistan and Pakistan. 
• A few imported cases have been reported in countries like Malawi and Mozambique earlier this year, the first since the 1990s.

Reasons for re-occurrence of Polio cases:

• Due to the increased focus on the COVID-19 vaccination, other vaccinations were ignored.
• Some communities (like Hasidic Jews) are sceptical of taking vaccinations.
• An immunity gap might cause the virus to reappear.
• There are a lot of parents in countries like the USA who are sceptical about vaccine usage and the vaccination can be exempted through legal procedure.
• Undervaccination is also a cause due to the eradication long back in various countries including the United States.

India and Polio eradication:

• In India, vaccination against Polio was a continuous process.
• The last case was reported in 2011 and the World Health Organization (WHO) declared India free from Polio in 2012.

India’s efforts in eradicating the disease:

• Surveillance:
  • India conducted one of the best surveillance through ICMR-NIV Mumbai.
  • The sewer surveillance is also done apart from the surveillance of children under 15 years of age.
  • India has 10 sites for continuos surveillance activities throughout the year.
• Vaccination:
  • India provided a very high vaccine coverage through its pan India campaign, which was a huge success.
  • India uses both kinds of vaccines: Live attenuated virus vaccine and Killed virus vaccine.
  • One gives mucosal immunity whereas the other provides broader immunity against neuro-paralytic events.

Views on severity of the problem:

• The fact that it is circulating in the most developed countries like US, UK and Israel (Jerusalem) can be a potential threat of outbreak.
• Even after continued efforts, the cases of Polio are not eradicated globally. This highlights the inability of the global community.
• The vaccination drive in many countries has been de-railed due to the pandemic.
• Imported cases in the African continent (Malawi and Mozambique) to the third-world communities might pose to be a serious challenge.
• Implementation of strategy has become weaker in various countries, where it has become an old and forgotten threat.

Counter views on severity of the problem:

• Polio is not a deadly virus and is a preventable disease.
• The heightened awareness in the post-pandemic world has made the news blow out of proportion.
• Out of three variants of Poliovirus, two have been completely eradicated.
• There is a sufficient dosage of vaccines available across the world.

Measures taken by WHO:

• WHO launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative 2022-2026.
• WHO has also launched a new vaccine for circulating (vaccine-derived polio virus) for P2 under 2022-2026.
• WHO has given approval to bivalent vaccines.

Way Ahead:

• The continued vigilance of the new cases is the need of the hour.
• Strengthen the surveillance system.
• The executive of the countries should work with the WHO to eradicate it at the country level.
• The best lessons learned from the global efforts should be adopted.
• Continued and robust efforts of vaccination should be run by the national governments across the world.

Conclusion:

Under-vaccination in some parts of the world has caused the emergence of new cases in the world. If the issue is blown out of control, it will be a huge setback in the global efforts for the eradication of Poliovirus. Though there might not be a reason for panic, the efforts should continue at a better pace to completely eradicate the menace of Polio by 2026.

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