The Global Eradication of Polio
The possibility of the eradication of polio worldwide is an imminent and exciting prospect as the "goal" year quickly approaches. In 1988, the World Health Assembly, which governs the World Health Organization, set the goal of eliminating polio from the world by the year 2010. Many organizations have joined the effort along with the World Health Organization: the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, Rotary International, Global Health Network, the US Agency for International Development, National Immunization Day, and the International Broadcasting Bureau. Together, these "worldwide polio partners" have implemented a strategy to completely rid the world of this disease. It is a difficult task, one which must be thorough and all-encompassing, covering all people in all countries, even those industrialized countries such as the United States where polio has already been successfully eliminated (Reuters 1998).
The disease poliomyelitis is caused by "three serotypes of poliovirus" (Prevots 1999). It can manifest itself with a range of characteristics, from flu-like symptoms such as fever, headaches, vomiting, fatigue, constipation, pain in the limbs and stiffness in the neck, to various levels of paralysis, and death. Poliovirus can be passed along from person to person through fecal-oral transmission, and any contaminated object can spread the virus. This is why polio is prevalent today in areas with very poor sanitation. Another source of transmission in any environment is the young children in diapers. The World Health Organization states:
* The disease circulates "silently" at first, and may infect hundreds of people, depending on the level of sanitation, before the first c...
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...e year 2010 is not achieved.
WORKS CITED
"The Beginning of the End: Target 2010. The World Without Polio." World Health Organization. 1999.
"Five Steps to Ridding the World of Polio. Rotary International. 1999.
Prevots, Rebecca D., PhD, MPH. et al. Chapter X from the Manual for the Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases: Poliomyelitis (CDC). Stemrich Associates: 1999.
Sharma, Ashok. "India Unlikely to Eradicate Polio by 2010." Associated Press. January 1999.
"Worldwide Eradication of Polio by 2010 Still Possible." Reuters. September 1998.
Palfreman, J. (Director) (2010). The vaccine war [Television series episode]. In Fanning, D. (Executive Producer),FRONTLINE. PBS. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/vaccines/view/
At first polio was a troubling prospect when it first reared its ugly head in the United States of America. In a noble effort to be rid of polio, America as a whole was to adopt stringent sanitation measures. Everywhere, especially the home was to be spotless and clean in order to try and prevent the contraction of polio. This coupled with the view that America as a western nation seemed impervious to such a lowly disease tried to assuage American fear of the disease. Despite the measures commonly adopted throughout the myriad of cities and towns, polio still managed to spread around the country and wreak havoc taking thousands of lives. An outbreak that ravaged America claimed nearly 27,000 lives in a terrible reckoning before it finally subsided. This and several other troubling outbreaks
The article’s information is presented with the goal of informing a reader on vaccines. The evidence is statistical and unbiased, showing data on both side effects and disease prevention, providing rates of death and serious illness from both sides. This evidence is sourced from a variety of medical organizations and seems reliable, logical, and easily understood, no language that would inspire an emotional response is used. The validity of studies is not mentioned in the article, but it does encourage readers to investigate further to help make a decision. The article allows a reader to analyze the presented evidence and come to their own
Piddock, Charles. "Winning the War on Polio." Current Health 2 10 2004: 25-7. ProQuest. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.
Fifty-nine years after the vaccine was introduced to the world, the number of cases of outbreaks has dropped 99% and only three countries still remain in an epidemic state with the virus, Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan. In 1994, the WHO Region of the Americas was certified polio-free and in in 2013 only406 reported cases were existent in the world, compared to the 350 000+ cases in 1988. (Who, 2014).
been previously touched by an infected person, will transmit the disease to the healthy person who
Polios epidemiology can be broken down into its basic definition, causation, and origin. According to the Healthline website “Polio…is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus that attacks the nervous system”. Polio is most commonly found in children younger than five but can also be found in adults as well.This viral disease is caused by the poliovirus that may come in one of three different forms; all of which are part of the enterovirus genus. This virus is spread through direct person-to-person contact, contact with infected mucus or phlegm from the nose or mouth, and contact with infected feces. There are three types of the polio disease which are subclinical infections, non-paralytic, and paralytic. Subclinical is the most common form and accounts for “approximately 95% of polio cases” (Healthline). Patience with this form of Polio may n...
Jonas Salk, a virologist at the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (NFIP), used inactivated viruses (virus particles grown in culture and then killed by a form of heat) to create a polio vaccine. Salk drew blood from about two million children, which the NFIP checked for immunization. Through the collection of many HeLa cells and trial and error, the polio vaccine was ready in a year.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Polio: An American Story describes a struggle to find a vaccine on polio through several researchers’ lives, and over the course of many years. The second thesis is the struggle between Salk and Sabin, two bitter rivals who had their own vaccine that they believed would cure polio. The author David M. Oshinsky, is describing how difficult it was to find the cure to a horrifying disease, which lasted from the Great Depression until the 1960’s. Oshinsky then writes about how foundations formed as fundraisers, to support polio research. Lastly, the author demonstrates how researchers were forced to back track on multiple occasions, to learn more about polio.
Moreover polio is a deadly disease that is caused by a highly contagious virus entering the nervous system in the brain or spinal cord causing temporary or permanent paralysis. There are three
As a result of pregnant women drinking, there have been a profuse amount of children born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Armstrong and Abel confirm that it wasn’t until 1973 when it was discovered as a disorder. This shows that for decades prior, women that drank while pregnant were unaware of the dangers. Prior to this discovery there had been anti-drinking movements across the world, because it was believed that alcohol was the reason for the increase in poverty and crime, as pointed out by Armstrong and Abel. This helped in determining FAS as a disorder. There were two different events or problems in society that led to the realization of the dangers associated with drinking while pregnant. One of them being the change in drinking age caused by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) as well as states lowering their blood alcohol content levels. The other realization was child victimization, society was disgusted when they saw or heard about children that had been abused; physically or emotionally. So when it became known that alcohol affected the helpless child in the womb it was normal for the people to be upset about it. What really got people’s attention was the S...
Rau, Thomas, MD. "Paracelsus Klinik’s Recommendations on Vaccination." Marion Institute. Marion Institute, 24 Sept. 2013. Web. 07 Apr. 2014.
FAS, depending on the factors such as location, population and race studied is considered one of the leading known causes of mental retardation and birth defects, with 0.2 – 1.5 out of every 1,000 live births (Ismail, Buckley, Budacki, Jabbar, & Gallicano, 2010) and as many as 40,000 infants born with some sort of disorder or complication related to alcohol consumption every year. (Mayo Clinic, 2009)
Alcohol, also known as ethanol, is a legal substance, which causes a person to become relaxed and “care-free”. Once alcohol is consumed, it is released into the bloodstream, which causes the brain to react, causing side effects. When a woman drinks alcohol while being pregnant, it can cause some physical and mental damage to the fetus. When a fetus is affected by alcohol exposure, it is called Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). If the affects are severe, it is then termed Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). The abnormalities occur in the central nervous system, facial structure, growth, and neurobehavioral development of the child. Severity of the damage depends on the amount of consumption, frequency, and timing of the consumption (Ungerer, Knezovich and Ramsay, 2013). Approximately 1 in 100 births have FASD effects. In the United States, 2-7 out of 1000 births are affected by FAS. 2-5% of young children in the United States and Western Europe are affected by FASD, while in Italy, the rate of FASD is 20.3-40.5 per 1000 births (Riley, Infante, Warren, 2011). These results are happening because 10-20% of women in the United States, 40% in Uruguay, and 50% of Italy consume alcohol while pregnant (Valenzuela, Morton and Diaz, 2012).
The CDC works closely with public health agencies and private partners in order to improve and sustain immunization coverage and to monitor the safety of vaccines so that public ...