vaccine-derived polio

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The dream of wiping out polio might need a rethink

NPR

Goats and Soda

The dream of wiping out polio might need a rethink

April 10, 2023 • When public health specialists look at the annual case counts, some see a trend that raises questions about how realistic the goal of a polio-free world might be.

Polio is found in the U.K. for the first time in nearly 40 years. Here's what it means

Aerial view of the Beckton Sewage Treatment Works in London. Between February and May, U.K. scientists found several samples containing closely related versions of the polio virus in wastewater at the plant. mwmbwls/Flickr hide caption

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mwmbwls/Flickr

Goats and Soda

Polio is found in the U.K. for the first time in nearly 40 years. Here's what it means

June 22, 2022 • Scientists in Britain have detected multiple versions of the virus in wastewater. Officials say the risk to the public is extremely low and urge people to ensure their polio vaccines are up to date.

Africa Declares Wild Polio Is Wiped Out — Yet It Persists In Vaccine-Derived Cases

An oral polio vaccine, which contains weakened live virus, is administered in a health enter in Togo. Africa has declared that wild polio has been eradicated, but a relatively small number of cases of vaccine-derived polio persist. BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty hide caption

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BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty

Goats and Soda

Africa Declares Wild Polio Is Wiped Out — Yet It Persists In Vaccine-Derived Cases

August 25, 2020 • The Kick Polio Out of Africa Campaign began in 1996. This week, the World Health Organization announced that wild polio has been eradicated — although there is a caveat.

Photo taken Sun., Aug. 28, 2016. A health official inks a child finger to indicate she has been administered with a polio vaccine at a camp of people displaced by Islamist extremist in Maiduguri, Nigeria. Sunday Alamba/AP hide caption

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Sunday Alamba/AP

Goats and Soda

Polio Is Making A Comeback

November 15, 2019 • Health officials have long known that virus from the oral vaccine can contaminate water supplies; they underestimated how big a problem this would be.