The American Academy of Pediatrics has declared its support for the World Health Organization's Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
The major element of the plan includes halting the administration of the oral polio vaccine used around the world because the attenuated serotype 2 poliovirus in the vaccine can actually cause polio.
Of the three serotypes of attenuated virus in the oral polio vaccine, the serotype 2 poliovirus accounts for roughly 40 percent of vaccine-associated paralytic polio cases and 98 percent of circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses detected in the last two years.
Additionally, the type 2 poliovirus actually interferes with and suppresses induction of immunity to serotypes 1 and 3, according to the report.
To accomplish the goal of completely eradicating polio, The WHO will have to introduce a trivalent inactivated poliovirus vaccine into routine immunization programs in all countries using oral polio vaccines to provide population immunity to type 2.
Then, the organization will be able to switch from the trivalent inactivated polio vaccine to the bivalent oral polio vaccine formula.
In doing to, WHO hopes to accomplish the global eradication of polio by 2018, according to the report.
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