The Polio Endgame | Health Policy and Reform

Perspective
The Polio EndgameNEJM | June 15, 2011 | Topics: International, Public Health
Bruce Aylward, M.D., and Tadataka Yamada, M.D.

Infection with poliovirus can have devastating consequences, including paralysis and death. In 1988, a year when an estimated 350,000 or more children were paralyzed by polio, the World Health Assembly initiated a global effort to eradicate the infection once and for all. It was an audacious undertaking, given that the virus circulates largely undetected, requires laborious cell-culture techniques to confirm infection, and is tackled with vaccines that provide imperfect protection in the gut.


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The Polio Endgame | Health Policy and Reform