- (Voiceover) Polio is a very serious communicable disease
that was indemic to the world prior to 1900.
The first major outbreak in the United states was
recorded in 1916, during which about 6000 people died,
and 27000 people were left paralyzed.
So, before vaccinations were wide spread and used
in the United States, this was a very serious disease
and was spread very easily from person to person.
Now, infections seem to peak in the summer months,
in temperate climates, so in places like the United States,
it was noticed that during these summer months
there were a larger number of Polio outbreaks.
However, in tropical areas, such as South America or India,
there was really no seasonal variability.
So, it just seems with Polio, outbreaks
occur more in hotter climates.
Now, this might be due to the fact that
the Polio virus was able to replicate in
warmer temperatures a little bit more.
But also, increased use of water during hot months and
decreased sanitation allows the spread of the Polio virus.
Now, Polio mainly affects children under the
age of five years old, and most commonly affects infants.
So, in hot summer months when children are trying
to go to swimming pools, the virus can be really
easily spread from person to person.
And, the virus is spread, most commonly,
through the fecal to oral route.
So, any children that doesn't have proper sanitation,
if they don't clean themselves properly after going to the
bathroom, can easily spread it from one person to the next.
However, there are some cases of transmission from
mouth to mouth, so oral to oral transmission.
And, the disease is highly infectious.
In fact, children infected by the virus can actually
carry it for up to seven to ten days before
they even display any symptoms whatsoever, and be infectious
for up to six weeks after becoming initially infected.
Now, thankfully, 90 to 95 percent of people never
experience any symptoms whatsoever.
But, they can still spread the disease and
that's why it makes it extremely difficult
to eradicate the Polio virus from the world.
Because, an infected individual can pass it to
somebody else without ever knowing that they were infected.
So, it's extremely hard to track on a global scale.
Now, though all of this makes eradication efforts
very challenging, thankfully there is one glimmer of hope.
Transmission is only from human to human.
The virus cannot be passed from
animal to human or human to animal.
So, in other words, humans are the
only reservoir for the Polio virus.
This has been a huge help when
eradication efforts started around 1988.
In fact, as you seen in this graph of the
global Polio virus incidents, you can see that
cases hovered around 350,000, but have dropped
since vaccinations have been used across the globe.
In fact, in 2013, there were only a total of 416
new cases reported in the world.
Now, in the western hemisphere,
the Polio virus is a thing of the past.
Polio was eradicated almost entirely
from the United States in 1979.
The last cases reported in the western hemisphere
occurred in Peru, around 1991.
Unfortunately, there are still cases that do exist.
As of 2014, there are only three countries that remain Polio
endemic, that includes Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria.
You can see that these are all very tropical, warm climates,
so it's easier for the virus to spread in these areas.
Polio was also recently eradicated from India in 2011.
However, despite all of this success in the Polio
eradication through the widespread use of vaccination,
this is still a global emergency.
With modern technology and with the ability for people to
fly from one area of the world to another,
you can see why this can be such a global concern
and such a threat to the population of the world.
So, what's the strategic plan?
The World Health Organization is focusing on both
vaccinations and surveillance, trying to keep track of
cases in the world so that they can properly
eradicate Polio from the world, forever.
Improving sanitation is another major effort that
can lead to less infants being exposed to the Polio virus.
Unfortunately, there are still many obstacles to overcome.
Poor access to children in impoverished areas
such as Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as Nigeria,
make it very challenging to stop this virus in it's track.
But, through collaborative efforts by many different
organizations in the world, hopefully soon, Polio can be
eradicated completely and become a thing of the past.