Research Proposal On Polio: Eradication Funding Proposal

According to the World Health Organization, “Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease, which mainly affects young children. The virus is transmitted by person-to-person spread mainly through the faecal-oral route or, less frequently, by a common vehicle (e.g. contaminated water or food) and multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system and can cause paralysis” ( “Poliomyelitis (polio)”, n.d.).
“There are three basic patterns of polio infection: subclinical infections, non-paralytic, and paralytic. Most people have subclinical infection, and may not have symptoms” (Poliomyelitis). The website of MedlinePlus (National Institutes of Health) outlines such subclinical infection symptoms of this disease – 1) general discomfort or uneasiness (malaise), 2) headache, 3) red throat, 4) slight fever, 5) sore throat, 6) vomiting (“Poliomyelitis”, n.d.).
Diagnosis is based on the data from laboratory studies and clinical forms of poliomyelitis. Preliminary analysis is based on epidemiological data and characteristic manifestations of the disease. Data on vaccination is also included.
The final diagnosis is made using virological study. The virus is extracted from nasopharyngeal mucus and faeces, sometimes from cerebrospinal fluid. To identify the level of destruction of motor neurons, electromyography method is used, that allows you to pinpoint the electrical activity of muscles and nerves.
Because of epidemiological activity (high degree of contagiousness), a person who is infected with poliovirus must be urgently hospitalized. Treatment is carried out in the infectious hospitals. Artificial ventilation is prescribed if the paralysis of the respiratory tract is observed, which leads to death.
Polio scientific researches originate from the works of the German orthopedist Heine J., Russian neurologist Kozhevnikov A., and Swedish pediatrician Medina O., showing independence and infectiousness of the disease. In the middle of the XX century, the increase in the incidence of polio in Europe and North America has given this disease the character of national disaster. The introduction of the vaccines that prevented polio led to a rapid reduction in morbidity and in many areas - to almost complete elimination.
Although now polio is rare in the Western world, it is still endemic to South Asia and Nigeria. Following the widespread use of polio vaccine in the mid-1950s, the incidence of polio has declined sharply in many developed countries.
Moreover, in 1988 the global effort to eradicate polio has been undertaken with the leadership of the World Health Organization, UNICEF and Rotary International. These efforts have led to a reduction in the number of annual diagnosed cases by 99%. The estimated number of cases of the disease decreased from 350 000 in 1988 to 483 cases in 2001, after which it remained at about 1,000 cases per year (1,606 in 2009), according to the World Health Organization.
Several steps of elimination of poliomyelitis have already passed, and some regions of the world have already been released from polio danger. 1994 - Both Americas were declared polio-free; 2000 - polio was officially eradicated in the majority of Western Pacific countries. Europe was declared polio-free in 2002, according to WHO.
As of 2012, polio remains endemic in only three countries: Nigeria, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, although it still causes epidemics in other neighboring countries due to hidden or rebuilt transmission. For example, despite the elimination of over ten years, the polio outbreak was recorded in China in September 2011 with the participation of strain prevalence in neighboring Pakistan.
Besides everything, that was said, correct and high funding also made it possible to achieve the following results: 1) currently 80% of the world's population lives in certified polio-free regions; 2) 10 million people are rescued from paralysis; 3) “an estimated more than 1.5 million childhood deaths have been prevented, through the systematic administration of Vitamin A during polio immunization activities” ( “Poliomyelitis”, 2014). This shows us that the eradication of polio is really worth being founded. However, in my opinion, financing of global eradication initiative must be continued to the achievement of the complete polio-free world. And I believe that this will really happen, because due to the “Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan 2013-2018” global society has decided to allocate more than US$4 billion cost over 6 years and also other donors will be asked to provide the missing US$1.5 billion needed to free the world of polio. Moreover, economic modeling showed that polio eradication would save in the next 20 years, at least US$ 40-50 billion, mainly in low-income countries (“Poliomyelitis”, 2014).
Taking into the account the “Financial resource requirements” of the “Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan 2013-2018”, I can outline such major methods of controlling or eradicating this disease: 1) immunization activities. This means the raising of population immunity in the three endemic countries, in re-infected countries and in high-risk areas to levels, which would be enough to stop transmission. This is done by vaccinating children with polio vaccine and in addition providing other immunization activities. 2) Surveillance: this means that one of the most important strategies for detecting all polioviruses is an investigation of acute flaccid paralysis. In addition, according to the “Financial resource requirements”, “environmental surveillance continues to be scaled up as a critical complement to AFP surveillance activities” (2014). 3) The global certification of WPV, which requires strong poliovirus surveillance and full application of all poliovirus bio-containment requirements globally. 4) Responsibility: nevertheless, WHO and UNICEF play an important role in supporting countries, national authorities are fully “responsible for development of immunization plans and budgets and for implementing activities” (2014). I believe that these are the main ways of continuing qualitative process of eradication of polio.

References

Financial Resource Requirements (2014). Global Eradication Initiative. Retrieved
Poliomyelitis (2014). Media Centre, World Health Organization. Retrieved from:
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs114/en/
Poliomyelitis (n.d.). MedlinePlus, National Institutes of Health. Retrieved from:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001402.htm
Poliomyelitis (Polio) (n.d.). World Health Organization. Retrieved from:
http://www.who.int/topics/poliomyelitis/en/