The Endgame is Near 

For Polio Eradication, the Endgame Is Near
                                           A Rotary Presentation Jan. 29, 2019 by Don Klug
  • In 1988 — when the wild poliovirus was in more than 125 countries, paralyzing 350,000 people every year — the World Health Assembly launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) to help eliminate the disease through a mass immunization campaign.
  • In 2007 the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation joined other major health organizations already committed, contributing nearly $3 billion toward eradicating polio by 2020.
  • "What we're looking at now is the endgame of polio eradication," says Dr. Jay Wenger, who leads the Gates Foundation's polio eradication efforts. "We are closer than ever, and we're optimistic that we can see the end of wild poliovirus disease by as early as this year," he said.
  • 12 Known Cases. According to Dr. Wenger, there are only 2 countries where known cases of the wild poliovirus exist today: Afghanistan and Pakistan. "In the last couple of years, we've seen unprecedented progress. In 2015 we could only find 74 cases; in 2016 we found 37, and then in 2018 we've found only 20 in only two countries."
  • The reason: a mass immunization effort to orally vaccinate 2.5 billion children in 122 countries.
  • In a lot of places, children don't always get all the vaccines that they are supposed to, and that's a chronic problem, said Dr. Wenger.
  • The virus can only live in people, he says, and it needs new people to infect to keep on spreading and keep on living. "If you make all those people in an area immune, then the virus can’t find new people to infect. So if we can get enough children in an area vaccinated, the virus dies off."
  • Even after seeing the last known case of polio, the Gates Foundation will still monitor the situation over the next two years. Continual surveillance is necessary. Until there are no additional cases after a several-year period can polio be deemed completely eradicated.
  • Since 1988, the number of cases has been reduced by 99.9 %, saving more than 13 million children from paralysis. Economic modeling has found that the eradication of polio would save at least $40 billion to $50 billion between 1988 and 2035, mostly in low-income countries.
  • Bill Gates is hopeful the disease will become the second disease after smallpox to disappear for good. "Progress in fighting polio might be one of the world's best-kept secrets in global health." But soon, he hopes, it will be a secret no more. "If things stay stable in the conflicted areas, humanity will see its last case of polio this year."
  • According to the WHO, as long as a single child remains infected, children in all countries are at risk of contracting polio. Failure to eradicate polio from these last remaining strongholds could result in as many as 200 000 new cases every year, within 10 years, all over the world. Just remember, Polio is just a plane ride away!
  • Dr. Jonas Salk, the Pittsburg University medical researcher who devoted his early life’s work to developing the Polio vaccine, worked seven days a week and sixteen hours a day for years during his quest to find a cure. We share this with you today because we want you to know how really devoted he was. Once he developed the vaccine he had to test it. Of course he used laboratory animals, but the final test had to be on humans.  He needed to test the vaccine.  Salk believed so strongly in the quality of his work that he was willing to risk his own safety to prove he was right. His wife and three sons also volunteered and placed their health on the line too as they all became test subjects. The tests were successful and the vaccine was deemed not a health danger. None of the people injected with the vaccine developed polio. This allowed the vaccine to be tested on a wider scale and today we all know the results.
  • What you may not know is that Dr. Salk could have become a very wealthy man from his discovery and hard work. When asked who would own the rights to the polio vaccine, he replied, “There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?” He believed such benefit work should be freely shared. Salk gave away his discovery of the vaccine so it would be available to everyone.  
  • What began 62 years ago in Dr. Salk's laboratory and later implemented by Bill Gates and others has been one of the great medical achievements of our time.
  • In 2019 The scorecard looks like this: Polio Cases as of October 2018
              *Afghanistan: 16 as of September 2018
             *Pakistan: 4 Cases as of August 2018
             *Nigeria: 0 cases (last case Aug of 2016)
             *Syria/Congo: 0 cases (last case Nov 2017)
So what is “The Final Strategy”?
The strategy for the eradication of polio rests on immunizing every at risk child until there is no one left for the disease to transmit to and the disease eventually dies out. The Initiative is spearheaded by the following Organizations:
  • WHO (World Health Organization) who are responsible for planning, technical direction, surveillance and eradication certification.
  • Rotary International whose responsibilities include fundraising, advocacy, and volunteer recruitment.
  • The Center for Disease Control (CDC) are in charge of deploying scientists and public health experts to WHO and UNICEF.
  • UNICEF is in charge of the distribution of the vaccine and helping countries develop communication and awareness strategies.
  • The Gates Foundation continues to match RI funds as well provided a large portion of the funding.[2] 
Key tactics used by the GPEI include strengthening childhood immunization through oral vaccines, conducting surveillance through investigation of acute flaccid paralysis cases among children under 15 years old (in order to determine areas where the virus is truly eradicated), and conducting "mop up" campaigns in areas where cases of polio have been identified.[3]
The Endgame
The final steps of polio eradication are as follows:
  1. Detect and interrupt all poliovirus transmissions
  2. Strengthen immunization systems and withdraw oral polio vaccine
  3. Contain poliovirus and certify interruption of transmission
  4. Ensure the remaining investments made to eradicate polio go to the greater cause of improving global health[9]
What is Your Part?
Please participate by swimming and raising funds or donate to The Rotary Foundation and note your donation as Polio Eradication. Any donation of at least $25 will be matched by our club towards your PH recognition.