The appearance of polio in Papua Nowa Gwinea shows that the global elimination remains elusive

Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) Declared by a polio explosion In Papua Modern Guinea (PNG).

A highly infectious virus was found in two hearty, vaccinated polio children who were signed after detecting the virus during routine sewage samples in Lae, the second largest city of PNG. Sewage samples are also positive in the capital port area, which indicates the potential of spreading throughout the country.

The strain has been identified as a circulating type 2-virus, similar to genetically to the strain It circulates in Indonesia.

So what does that mean? And what will happen now in PNG?

First, what is polio?

Polio or polioIt is a highly contagious disease caused by polio. It primarily affects children.

Most of the infections do not cause significant symptoms and is not largely unnoticed. But Less than 1% infections causes paralysis.

Magnify is distributed by passenger contact or consumption of a contaminated virus from Kale. The virus reproduces in the intestines of infected people and drop the virus in the stool for several weeks. In this way, it can spread through the community, especially in areas with needy sanitary conditions.

AND Last review I also suggested a greater role in transmission with respiratory particles than we thought before.

Wild polio (unlike the polio from the vaccine, which we will soon discuss) was a stern problem of public health before introducing vaccinations in the 1950s. This campaign led to the virtual elimination of the disease in Opulent countries like Australia.

From Global polio control initiative It was launched in 1988matters have decreased by 99% globally. The wild polio remains endemic only in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Polio vaccines

They are there Two types of vaccines – Oral polio vaccine and inactivated polio vaccine.

Delivered as at least two drops in the mouth Four times in early childhoodThe oral vaccine contains a passenger (weakened) polio form. It causes a robust immune reaction in the intestines, which slows down the replication of wild polio -virus and reduces dropping in a stool, limiting transmission.

The oral vaccine has a low risk of weakened vaccine strain that causes paralysis. This happens approximately one in 2.7 million doses administered oral vaccine, usually in the first dose.

Inactivated polio vaccine (part of the routine vaccination program in Australia) contains an inactivated or dead form of polio, which is unable to cause polio at the recipient.

Considering the injection, this vaccine stimulates the immune system for the production of protective antibodies in the blood against polio, three doses of inactivated vaccine are highly protective against the development of symptoms and paralysis from polio.

However, it is believed that this vaccine is not as effective as an oral vaccine prevention of infection and intestinal dropping. Therefore, it does not prevent transmission.

What is polio from the vaccine?

Because weakened polio in an oral vaccine is still thrown in a stool, it can spread in communities with bad sanitary conditions. The vaccine strain can mutate to a form that can cause paralysis, just like wild polio. The result, circulating polio-in love with the vaccine, is a problem, especially when polio immunization speeds are low.

The risk of international spread of virus vaccine virus has been rated as high by WHO and United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention. There were explosions in 39 countries In the years 2023–24.

Modern oral polio vaccine, NOPV2Which is less likely that since 2021 it has been used in polio explosions from the vaccine.

Routine vaccination inactivated with the polio vaccine is the key to preventing polio from the vaccine and is Recommended by WHO. Polyo final game will require it Transition from the oral vaccine to the inactivated vaccine.

In 2019, all countries had introduced an inactivated vaccine. However, download remains low due to the lack of resources and inappropriate access to health services in needy countries.

What is happening now in PNG?

The PNG government has He answered quickly To activate your polio response plan, supported by partners including WHO, UNICEF and Australian government.

In particular, the PNG vaccination indicator is one of the lowest in the world, and only about 50% of children Born every year receiving recommended childhood vaccines, including oral polio vaccine. To cause herd resistance and prevent diseases, there should be a range at least 95%.

PNG was considered polio free in 2000. But he was Explosion in 2018 Polio from type 1 vaccine with 26 cases in nine provinces. The explosion was controlled by complementary vaccination rounds, increased surveillance and extended communication and community involvement.

There are many lessons that should be learned from a successful response to Polio 2018 explosion. These three pillars of the answer remain crucial:

• Mass vaccination (using NOPV2)
• Improved surveillance for cases and sewage sampling
• Communication (through conventional and social media) and located community involvement.

Further research will be of key importance for understanding where the transmission occurs and the answer to directly. This covers the issue of spreading between Indonesia and PNG – a neglected health safety problem.

Or maybe a risk in Australia?

While the risk of spreading polio in Australia is low, the virus does not respect the boundaries and we cannot become complacency.

The overall range of Australia inactivated with the vaccine is nearly 95% But it was regarding the decline in childhood vaccination from pandemic air conditioning. Australia must take care of this and keep its polio Sewage monitoring system.

Supporting PNG and cooperation with other countries in the direction of global elimination of polio is the best way to protect Australia.

This explosion is a time that reminds you that the last mile in the global polio control remains a violence. When we emerge from Pandemia, the need for international cooperation, strengthening healthcare systems and quick response to crisis situations such as polio, could not be stronger.