Cases of cVDPV now exceed wild-type cases, making it desirable to discontinue the use of the oral polio vaccine as soon as safely possible and instead use other types of polio vaccines. Afghanistan and Pakistan
The last remaining region with wild polio cases are the South Asian countries Afghanistan and Pakistan. During 2011, the CIA ran a fake hepatitis vaccination clinic in Abbottabad, Pakistan in an attempt to locate Osama bin Laden. This destroyed trust in vaccination programs in the region. There were attacks and deaths among vaccination workers; 66 vaccinators were killed in 2013 and 2014. In Afghanistan, the Taliban banned house-to-house polio vaccination between 2018 and 2021. These factors have set back efforts to eliminate polio by means of vaccination in these countries.In Afghanistan, 80 cases of polio were reported from 35 districts during 2011. Incidence over the subsequent 10 years has declined to just 4 cases in 2 districts during 2021.In Pakistan, cases dropped by 97 percent from 2014 to 2018; reasons include 440 million dirham support from the United Arab Emirates to vaccinate more than ten million children, changes in the military situation, and arrests of some of those who attacked polio workers. During 2021 only one case of wild polio was detected in Pakistan. Americas
The Americas were declared polio-free in 1994. The last known case was a boy in Peru in 1991.
Etymology
The term derives from the Ancient Greek poliós (πολιός), meaning "grey", myelós (µυελός "marrow"), referring to the grey matter of the spinal cord, and the suffix -itis, which denotes inflammation, i.e., inflammation of the spinal cords grey matter, although a severe infection can extend into the brainstem and even higher structures, resulting in polioencephalitis, resulting in inability to breathe, requiring mechanical assistance such as an iron lung. Research
The Poliovirus Antivirals Initiative was launched in 2007 with the aim of developing antiviral medications for polio, but while several promising candidates were identified, none have progressed beyond Phase II clinical trials. Pocapavir (a capsid inhibitor) and V-7404 (a protease inhibitor) may speed up viral clearance and are being studied for this purpose. References
Further reading
Kluger Jefferey (2004). Splendid Solution: Jonas Salk and the Conquest of Polio. New York: G. P. Putnams Sons. ISBN 978-0-399-15216-0. Oshinsky DM (2005). Polio: An American story. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-515294-4. polio. Shaffer MM, Bernard S (2005). The death of a disease: a history of the eradication of poliomyelitis. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-3677-4. Shell M (2005). Polio and its aftermath: the paralysis of culture. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01315-5. polio. Wilson DJ (2005). Living with polio: the epidemic and its survivors. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-90103-9. Wilson DJ, Silver J (2007). Polio voices: an oral history from the American polio epidemics and worldwide eradication efforts. New York: Praeger. ISBN 978-0-275-99492-1.