The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | An independent commission of experts has announced that wild poliovirus type 3 has been eradicated across the world. The announcement made on World Polio Day today represents a historic achievement for humanity following the eradication of smallpox and wild poliovirus type 2.
There are three individual and immunologically-distinct wild poliovirus strains: wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1), wild poliovirus type 2 (WPV2) and wild poliovirus type 3 (WPV3).
Symptomatically, all three strains are identical, in that they cause irreversible paralysis or even death. But there are genetic and virologic differences which make them separate viruses that must each be eradicated individually.
Wild poliovirus type 3 is the second strain of the poliovirus to be wiped out, following the certification of the eradication of WPV2 in 2015. The last case of WPV3 was detected in northern Nigeria in 2012. Since then, the strength and reach of the eradication programme’s global surveillance system have been critical to verify that this strain is truly gone.
Professor David Salisbury, chair of the independent Global Commission for the Certification of Poliomyelitis Eradication, presented the official certificate of WPV3 eradication to Dr Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a celebration event at the headquarters of the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, moments ago.
“We do have good news from Africa: no wild poliovirus type 1 has been detected anywhere on the continent since 2016 in the face of ever-improving surveillance. a tremendous achievement,” Prof Salisbury said.
He added that although the region is affected by circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses, it does appear as if the continent is free of all wild polioviruses.
He said that investments in skilled workers, innovative tools and a global network of laboratories have helped determine that no WPV3 exists anywhere in the world, apart from specimens locked in secure containment.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization and Chair of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) Polio Oversight Board said that eradicating WPV3 proves that a polio-free world is achievable.
As part of a Global Health Week in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in November 2019, the Reaching the Last Mile Forum will focus international attention on eradication of the world’s deadliest diseases and provide an opportunity for world leaders and civil society organizations, notably Rotary International which is at the origin of this effort, to contribute to the last mile of polio eradication.
The GPEI is a public-private global effort made up of national governments, partners including the World Health Organization, Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a broad range of long-term supporters.
The polio eradication efforts have saved the world more than USD 27 billion in health costs since 1988. A sustained polio-free world will generate further USD 14 billion in savings by 2050, compared to the cost countries would incur for controlling the virus indefinitely.
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