Current Status and Underlying Problems of Eradication of Poliomyelitis in the Remaining Endemic Countries

Abstract

In 1988, the World Health Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), with the resolve to interrupt transmission of wild poliovirus (WPV) worldwide by the year 2000.Eighteen years after the intended year of eradication, that target is yet to be achieved. To investigate the reasons behind this, a check of recent publications on poliomyelitis and polio virus was carried out. The databases and websites of institutions and organizations involved in the polio eradication programme were also checked. The findings showed that although the goal of interrupting polio transmission has not been meet, a lot of progress has been made. By 2006, transmission of WPV had been interrupted in all but four countries: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan. In February 2012, India was delisted from the list of polio-endemic countries leaving the remaining 3 countries as the only endemic countries in the world. Wild type 2 and 3 viruses have both been eliminated from circulations. The number of polio cases in the remaining endemic countries has reduced drastically. Nigeria is close to the target, but is yet to be certified polio-free, having experienced a setback in 2016. However, as long as transmission of WPV continues in these countries, the world cannot be free from the disease, as these countries serve as reservoirs of infection and sources of export of the virus to other countries. To be able to achieve the target of interrupting the transmission of WPV in the remaining endemic countries, the identified problems, particularly conflict in the countries concerned, will have to be factored into the programmes geared toward eradication of the disease.

COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance in Nigeria: A Rapid Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Many studies have demonstrated that increased risk perception of the virus is a decisive predictor variable for COVID-19 Vaccine acceptance (Guidry et al, 2021;Lin et al, 2021;Shektar et al, 2021;Dzieciolowska et al, 2021). On the other hand, the high vaccine hesitancy in Northern Nigeria may be related to cultural and religious patterns, which was demonstrated in the past with cases of mass refusal and boycott of the polio vaccination program that led to the resurgence in the diseases and beyond (Ike et al, 2018;Nzaji et al, 2020;Tobin et al, 2021;Adebisi et al, 2021). Moreover, the relatively lower figures for the burden of the pandemic in the Northern states of Nigeria could explain the high hesitancy (Hassan et al, 2020).…”

“…Disturbingly, Nigeria once experienced a striking example of widespread vaccine refusal. This incident occurred in 2003–2004 when northern Nigeria boycotted the polio immunization program, which caused the disease to reemerge in the nation and beyond (Adebisi et al ., 2021; Ike et al ., 2018; Kabamba Nzaji et al ., 2020; Tobin et al ., 2021). LMIC residents may not be aware of the risks associated with the disease; hence, they may be less eager to undergo vaccinations as a result, given that COVID-19 mortality rates in LMICs have consistently been lower than those in higher-income nations (Brown et al ., 2011).…”