With Egypt and Niger off list, four polio-endemic countries remain

1 February 2006

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative announced today that Egypt and Niger are no longer polio endemic since the indigenous form of the virus that causes the disease has not circulated in either country for over 12 months.

This is the first time in three years that the number of polio-endemic countries has fallen, leaving Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan as the only countries that have never stopped indigenous polio transmission.

The initiative's spearheading partners — Rotary International, the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and UNICEF — also announced that this year, the monovalent form of the oral polio vaccine will be the vaccine of choice in all polio-affected areas. Aimed at individual virus strains, the monovalent vaccine will be used to eradicate poliovirus types 1 and 3 during this new phase of immunizations.

"Polio has been endemic in our country for all of recorded history," said Egyptian Health Minister Dr. Hatem Mostafa El-Gabaly. "The best tools of our age finally defeated this enemy who has been with us from Pharaonic times." The monovalent vaccine was used to target type-1 poliovirus circulating in Egypt during vaccination campaigns there in May 2005.

Unlike Egypt, where the challenge to eradication was polio transmission in crowded cities, Niger faced a problem of sparse population, some of it nomadic, scattered over a vast country sharing a heavily traveled border with Nigeria, the world's largest reservoir of the poliovirus. Multiple immunization campaigns were carried out in Niger to ensure children were being vaccinated even in the remotest areas. In 2005, the nine polio cases reported in Niger were all imported from Nigeria.

The success in Egypt and Niger is the result of intense efforts in 2004-05 to halt Africa's polio epidemic and fast-track the introduction of monovalent polio vaccines into selected areas. The number of cases of polio in India and Pakistan in the last quarter of 2005 also fell by more than half compared with the previous year, due to more effective immunization strategies and the use of monovalent vaccine.

"To fully exploit these new tools, government commitment in Nigeria must remain high at all levels to ensure that all children are vaccinated," said Past RI President Jonathan Majiyagbe, of Kano, Nigeria. Ninety percent of Nigeria's polio cases are concentrated in just 8 of the country's 37 states.

This year, in addition to mass immunizations in the four remaining polio-endemic countries, large-scale campaigns with the monovalent vaccine will need to take place in eight countries with reported cases of imported polioviruses"

To date, Rotarians have raised more than US$135 million for polio eradication! Launched in 2002-03 to address urgent needs in polio eradication, the campaign set an initial goal of raising US$80 million in cash and commitments in one year. Rotarians more than exceeded expectations by raising $111.5 million by 30 June 2003. With additional contributions in the next two years, the total now stands at $135 million in cash, DDF, & government matching funds.

The success of the campaign has truly been global in scope. Contributions have been received from all 529 of the 529 Rotary Districts and from 153 countries. More than 20,000 clubs have made contributions. Eight districts have raised more than $1 million each.

In the words of Dr. David Heymann, Special Representative to the Director General of the World Health Organization on Polio Eradication: "Rotarians have proven yet again that when there is a need, they will meet the challenge with enthusiasm and support. Rotarians can be proud that their hard work will contribute to conquering the last remnants of polio."

Although the deadline has passed for contributions to be counted for the Polio Eradication Fundraising Campaign (PEFC), the PolioPlus program continues to welcome contributions from Rotarians who are interested in making additional gifts. Donations can be made either to the PolioPlus Partners. Funds will help to support increased needs in Africa and Asia due to outbreaks caused by importations.

Background: In the United States, polio was the most notorious disease of the 20th century until AIDS appeared. On April 12, 1955, it was announced that Jonas Salk, using March of Dimes donations from millions of people, had developed a vaccine to prevent polio.

American polio epidemics began in 1894 and peaked in 1952; the medical, orthotic, and assistive technology used by medical practitioners and people who had polio expanded, including a pair of leg braces for President Franklin D. Roosevelt; FDR played a major role in founding the March of Dimes and establishing Warm Springs as a polio rehabilitation center; People who had polio went on to influence American life and culture, in ways as disparate as the disability rights movement and the creation of Mars candy bars (Frank Mars learned candy making while home-schooled by his mother). Polio also impacted medical practice and public health policy.

An exhibit marking the 50th anniversary of the Salk polio vaccine opened at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C., on 12 April. The "Whatever Happened to Polio?" exhibit, which includes a section on Rotary's current efforts to eradicate the disease, will run until April 2006. The science of polio is explained with two bronze, scientifically accurate, touchable sculptures of the poliovirus in action. The virus models, especially commissioned for the exhibition, were designed by a biochemist and cast at an art foundry in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The exhibition also includes an iron lung and a working rocking bed. The technology of the iron lung is further explored through a miniature working version of the tank respirator—visitors can place an arm inside, feel the pressure change, and hear the sound of the vacuum pump.

The global collaboration of Rotary International, UNICEF, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and national governments is the latest chapter in the history of polio. International efforts started in the 1980s to stop the transmission of poliovirus have drastically reduced the number of countries in which poliovirus is circulating, and the goal of ending forever the threat of poliovirus is nearly achieved. The dramatic story of National Immunization Days is recounted through vaccine coolers and other tools of the field vaccinator of today.

In addition to learning about the history of polio and the global efforts to eradicate it, students who visit the exhibit could also get involved in supporting a PolioPlus Partners project.

Copyright © 2003-04 Rotary eClub NY1 * Updated 2006
Design & Maintenance of this site by TechnoTouch e-Strategists