Disease Prevention
Polio is a disease that has become less common due to the accuracy of the polio vaccine. Typically, polio causes severe paralysis and muscle weakness, and can be fatal. There are two polio vaccines, and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia examines both the OPV and the IPV. The first polio vaccine was the IPV (inactivated polio vaccine) and the OPV (oral polio vaccine) came along a few years later. While the OPV is still used in other areas around the world, it is no longer used in the US. This is because of the risk of causing an outbreak of poliovirus that was vaccine derived. Even though the OPV is not used any more here, it was extremely successful in preventing polio. A big reason for this is since it was given orally, it immediately travels to the gastrointestinal tract, which is where the poliovirus replicates. In my opinion, while I am glad OPV helped to decrease the incidence, I am also glad that it is no longer used in the US due to the risk of causing a vaccine derived virus.
Unlike the OPV, the IPV is still used in the US. It is a more typical vaccine since it is given as an injection and works in the bloodstream, rather than the gastrointestinal tract. It works by preventing the virus from spreading from the blood to the typically at risk areas of the body (the brain and the spinal cord). This vaccine is so successful that polio has been eradicated from the US, but unfortunately not from the whole world. The concept of herd immunity, which means resistance to a disease if large portions of populations are vaccinated, is reinforced by this vaccine since it successfully got rid of polio in the US because enough people received the vaccine. I only wish that enough people would choose to get vaccinations, so that more diseases were eradicated from the US, and ideally the whole world.
Polio’s Persistance
Even though polio has not been eradicated from the entire world, it has greatly decreased in prevalence. According to UN News, “the number of affected children having dropped by 99 per cent since 1988” and that there are “less than 40” reported cases in today’s world. I am amazed at how few cases that is and I am hopeful that soon there will no longer be any cases of polio. In addition, two of the three wild strains of polio have already been completely eradicated. This gives me hope that through vaccinations, other diseases can also be eradicated, since this proves how accurate herd immunity can be. However, it is suggested that even if the disease is eradicated, that polio vaccinations still be given. I agree with this since there is no harm in ensuring that polio does not make a deadly return.
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