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Social science research on polio has been centred in the global south, where countries that remain endemic or vulnerable to outbreaks are located. However, closely-related strains of poliovirus were detected in the sewage systems of several New York State counties and London boroughs in 2022. These detections constituted the first encounters with polio in the United States and United Kingdom for a generation - for both public health agencies and publics alike. This paper takes the transnational spread of poliovirus in 2022 as an opportunity to critique how public health memories of twentieth-century polio epidemics were mobilised to encourage vaccine uptake among groups considered vulnerable to transmission, notably Orthodox Jewish families. The study integrates data collected in London and New York as part of academic engagement with health protection responses to the spread of polio. Methods in both settings involved ethnographic research, and a total of 59 in-depth semi-structured interviews with public health professionals, healthcare providers, and Orthodox Jewish community partners and residents. Analysis of results demonstrate that narratives of epidemiological progress were deployed in public health responses in London and New York, often through references to sugar cubes, iron lungs, and timelines that narrate the impact of routine childhood immunisations. While memories of polio were deployed in both settings to provoke an urgency to vaccinate, vulnerable publics instead considered the more recent legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic when deciding whether to trust recommendations and responses. Critical attention to memory places analysis on the divergences between institutional (public health agencies) and peopled (publics) responses to disease events. Responses to re-emerging infectious disease outbreaks engender a temporal dissonance when historical narratives are evoked in ways that contrast with the contemporary dilemmas of people and parents., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None of the authors declare any conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

In line with the commemoration of the scientists who played a significant role in advancing knowledge and providing services to the country, it is imperative to publish their biographies so that their lives and achievements are recorded in the history of the country and serve as an example for future generations. Dr. Bijan Sadrizadeh, a physician and a public health specialist, undertook many valuable activities, particularly in the field of public health in Iran and the world during more than 60 years of great services, including the promotion of public health in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the development of I.R. Iran's international collaborations in the field of public health, and the development of research programs in the field of neglected tropical diseases and the eradication of polio in the world. He served the country in many high-level executive capacities, including three periods as deputy Minister of Health. In addition to several years of full-time employment in the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Sadrizadeh also served on the WHO Executive Board and was a member of numerous scientific and advisory committees. In reviewing his life, great determination, devotion, believing in primary health care and universal health coverage and a deep sense of responsibility are visible and can be an inspiration and a model for all., (© 2023 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.)

Background: The scaling up of public health interventions has received greater attention in recent years; however, there remains paucity of systematic investigations of the scaling up processes. We aim to investigate the overall process, actors and contexts of polio immunization scaling up in Indonesia from 1988 until 2018., Methods: A mixed method study with sequential explanatory design was conducted. We carried out a quantitative survey of 323 actors involved in the polio program at national and sub-national levels, followed by Key Informant Interviews (KII)s. Document review was also carried out to construct a timeline of the polio eradication program with milestones. We carried out descriptive statistical analysis of quantitative data and thematic analysis of qualitative data., Results: The scaling up of polio immunization in Indonesia started as a vertical expansion approach led by the Ministry of Health within a centralized health system. The coverage of immunization increased dramatically from 5% in the earlier 80s to 67.5% in 1987; incremental increases followed until achieving Universal Child Immunization (UCI) in 1990 and subsequently 95% coverage in 1995. Engagement of stakeholders and funding made the scaling up of polio immunization a priority. There was also substantial multisector involvement, including institutions and communities. Local area monitoring (LAM) and integrated health posts (Posyandu) were key to the polio immunization implementation strategy. Challenges for scaling up during this centralized period included cold chain infrastructure and limited experience in carrying out mass campaigns. Scaling up during the decentralized era was slower due to expansion in the number of provinces and districts. Moreover, there were challenges such as the negative perception of immunization side-effects, staff turnover, and the unsmooth transition of centralization towards decentralization., Conclusion: Vertical scaling up of polio immunization program intervention was successful during the centralized era, with involvement of the president as a role model and the engine of multi sector actors. Posyandu (integrated health posts) played an important role, yet its revitalization after the reform-decentralization era has not been optimum.

Conceptions of acute public health events typically assume that they are tackled exclusively or principally through technical and medical solutions. Yet health and politics are inexorably linked. To better understand this link, this paper adopts a disaster diplomacy perspective for analysing and assessing the impacts of acute public health events on diplomatic outcomes. Two gaps in understanding disaster-health-politics connections are addressed: (i) how health interventions can impact diplomatic endeavours, especially for (ii) acute public health events. Three diverse case studies are interpreted from a disaster diplomacy perspective: Cuba's medical diplomacy, China and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and polio vaccination. Disaster diplomacy permits deeper investigation and analysis of connections amongst health, disaster, and diplomatic activities by viewing efforts on acute public health events as being political through disaster risk reduction (beforehand) and disaster response (during and afterwards). Understanding improves how health interventions affect diplomacy and on disaster diplomacy's limitations., (© 2018 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2018.)

The legacy of polio in Africa goes far beyond the tragedies of millions of children with permanent paralysis. It has a positive side, which includes the many well-trained polio staff who have vaccinated children, conducted surveillance, tested stool specimens in the laboratories, engaged with communities, and taken care of polio patients. This legacy also includes support for routine immunization services and vaccine introductions and campaigns for other diseases. As polio funding declines, it is time to take stock of the resources made available with polio funding in Africa and begin to find ways to keep some of the talented staff, infrastructure, and systems in place to work on new public health challenges. The partnerships that helped support polio eradication will need to consider funding to maintain and to strengthen routine immunization services and other maternal, neonatal, and child health programs in Africa that have benefitted from the polio eradication infrastructure., (© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.)

Background: The laboratory has always played a very critical role in diagnosis of the diseases. The success of any disease programme is based on a functional laboratory network. Health laboratory services are an integral component of the health system. Efficiency and effectiveness of both clinical and public health functions including surveillance, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, research and health promotion are influenced by reliable laboratory services. The establishment of the African Regional polio laboratory for the Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) has contributed in supporting countries in their efforts to strengthen laboratory capacity. On the eve of the closing of the program, we have shown through this article, examples of this contribution in two countries of the African region: Côte d'Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of Congo., Methods: Descriptive studies were carried out in Côte d'Ivoire (RCI) and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from October to December 2014. Questionnaires and self-administered and in-depth interviews and group discussions as well as records and observation were used to collect information during laboratory visits and assessments., Results: The PEI financial support allows to maintain the majority of the 14 (DRC) and 12 (RCI) staff involved in the polio laboratory as full or in part time members. Through laboratory technical staff training supported by the PEI, skills and knowledge were gained to reinforce laboratories capacity and performance in quality laboratory functioning, processes and techniques such as cell culture. In the same way, infrastructure was improved and equipment provided. General laboratory quality standards, including the entire laboratory key elements was improved through the PEI accreditation process., Conclusion: The Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) is a good example of contribution in strengthening public health laboratories systems in the African region. It has established strong Polio Laboratory network that contributed to the strengthening of capacities and its expansion to surveillance of other viral priority diseases such as measles, yellow fever, Influenza, MERS-CoV and Ebola. This could serve as lesson and good example of laboratory based surveillance to improving diseases prevention, detection and control in our middle and low income countries as WHO and partners are heading to polio eradication in the world., (Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

The social rejection of the polio eradication campaign in endemic countries challenges an assumption underlying the goal itself: the full compliance of an entire population to a public health programme. The polio campaign, which has been an extraordinary public health enterprise, is at risk of becoming irremediably unpopular if the eradication goal is pursued at all costs. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) should not be driven by the fear of failure, because the greatest benefit of the polio campaign is that it has demonstrated how simple, community-wide actions can contribute to a dramatic decrease in the incidence of a disease.

The global incidence of poliomyelitis has dropped by more than 99 per cent since the governments of the world committed to eradication in 1988. One of the three serotypes of wild poliovirus has been eradicated and the remaining two serotypes are limited to just a small number of endemic regions. However, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) has faced a number of challenges in eradicating the last 1 per cent of wild-virus transmission. The polio endgame has also been complicated by the recognition that vaccination with the oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) must eventually cease because of the risk of outbreaks of vaccine-derived polioviruses. I describe the major challenges to wild poliovirus eradication, focusing on the poor immunogenicity of OPV in lower-income countries, the inherent limitations to the sensitivity and specificity of surveillance, the international spread of poliovirus and resulting outbreaks, and the potential significance of waning intestinal immunity induced by OPV. I then focus on the challenges to eradicating all polioviruses, the problem of vaccine-derived polioviruses and the risk of wild-type or vaccine-derived poliovirus re-emergence after the cessation of oral vaccination. I document the role of research in the GPEI's response to these challenges and ultimately the feasibility of achieving a world without poliomyelitis.

Polio vaccine hesitancy remains high in Pakistan due to various socio-political, religious, and economic factors. To address this, the government of Pakistan and its international partners such as UNICEF have devised a multipronged communication strategy to counter resistance to polio vaccine in hard-to-reach areas of the country. In this strategy, mainstream news media has been identified as a key stakeholder, as they have the potential to reach a wide range of population and disseminate easy to understand messages including both visuals and text. However, less scholarly attention has been paid to how mainstream news media in Pakistan frame polio and polio vaccine in their visuals. This study aims to fill this gap. Using visual framing as a theoretical framework, we analyzed 115 images from three selected newspapers published from 2010 to 2022. Our results suggest that the newspapers depicted hard-to-reach areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province which were more affected by polio and highlighted the criminality and securitization of polio vaccine in the country. In addition, female polio healthcare workers, who are instrumental in eradicating the disease, have been given marginal coverage, reflecting the importance of gender sensitivity in the region. Overall, this study contributes to the fields of visual communication, health communication, and international communication, particularly related to the Global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Indonesia has successfully eradicated wild poliovirus since 2005 using robust immunization and AFP surveillance programs. However, circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 has challenged these commitments, followed by the 2024 outbreak in East Java. Purpose: The study aims to analyze the polio eradication initiative by assessing polio immunization coverage and AFP surveillance in East Java. Methods: A descriptive, quantitative study design and retrospective analysis of polio immunization coverage and AFP surveillance indicators from the Provincial Health Office, East Java, from 2018-2022. The data was collected and analyzed using Excel, EpiInfo7, and Health Mapper software. Results: OPV4 coverage ranged from 89.95% to 100.76%, while IPV coverage ranged from 73.98 % to 94.18% from 2018 to 2020; the proportion of districts and cities for IPV coverage increased from 0% in 2018 to 44.74% in 2022, below the 95% WHO target. Of the 826 cases of AFP reported, 820 (99.27%) were actual AFP cases <15 years of age, with most (49.02%) being <5 years of age. Non-polio AFP rates ranged from 0.80 in 2020 to 2.59 in 2022 per 100,1000 <15 years of age, with the proportion of districts and cities slightly declining from 55.26% in 2018 to 50% in 2022. The annual mean percentage of AFPadequate specimens is 61.15%, with the proportion of districts and cities significantly declining from 31.58% in 2018 to 10.53% in 2022, below the 80% target. Conclusion: IPV immunization coverage and AFP surveillance indicators are below the WHO-recommended targets across districts and cities in East Java. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Poliomyelitis is always a great concern in Pakistan and is a public health emergency. COVID‐19 and recent floods have increased the challenge. Aim: This article highlights the situation of polio in Pakistan and also recommends several steps to eradicate the disease as early as possible. Methodology: Selected articles were selected from electronic databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus using keywords such as Wild Poliovirus, Vaccine Derived Polio Infection, Acute Flaccid Paralysis, Vaccine, and Pakistan. Result: Polio infection has two types, wild poliovirus and vaccine‐derived polio infection. 2019 and 2020 were a challenging time as cases were increased at that time in Pakistan. Acute flaccid paralysis is the most common complication of this disease. The maximum cases of polio are being reported from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Conclusion: A special public health importance should be given in this province. Regular vaccination and strict surveillance are important. It is also important to spread awareness among the people. Early identification and timely diagnosis are very important. Early diagnosis, proper timely treatment, vaccination, awareness, and community‐based research will help Pakistan to eradicate this disease as early as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Viral infections, ranging from the common cold to severe illnesses like HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and SARS-CoV-2, are a major public health concern. The Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) has a comprehensive research program on viral diseases. During the seventh annual research meeting (ARM), presentations highlighted NMIMR's role in Ghana's preparedness for epidemic-prone diseases, national surveillance, and policy support. NMIMR hosts several key centres, including the National Influenza Centre and the Regional Reference Laboratories for Polio and Rotavirus. During the COVID-19 pandemic, NMIMR established Ghana's first testing facility and expanded testing capacity through training and novel methodologies like sample pooling. The Institute has tested hundreds of thousands of samples and conducted genomic sequencing to track SARS-CoV-2 variants. NMIMR's polio laboratory, the WHO Regional Reference Lab for Africa, processes samples from several West African countries. The lab's genomic sequencing has been crucial for tracking poliovirus and informing immunisation strategies. The institute also plays a key role in monitoring viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHF), and diagnosing diseases like Lassa fever, yellow fever, and Marburg. NMIMR's research and surveillance efforts have been pivotal in shaping Ghana's response to viral diseases, ensuring timely diagnosis, effective outbreak management, and informed policy-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Background: The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) has drastically reduced the global incidence of poliomyelitis since its launch in 1988 thanks to effective vaccines and strong global surveillance systems. However, detections of wild-type as well as vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) still occur, also in the WHO European Region. This study aims to describe the poliovirus detection via the acute flaccid paralysis (AFP), clinical enterovirus, and environmental surveillance systems. Methods: In this study, we review data from annual reports from 2015 to 2022 from the World Health Organization (WHO)'s three core poliovirus surveillance systems in place in the WHO European Region: AFP, clinical enterovirus, and environmental surveillance systems. Findings: A total of 4324 reported samples were found positive for poliovirus: 477 from AFP surveillance, 394 from clinical surveillance and 3453 from environmental surveillance. Of these, 366 were VDPV, 3952 vaccine strains, and 6 were wild-type poliovirus. 709 were identified as type 1, 399 as type 2, and 1944 type 3, while 1272 samples contained more than one type. Temporal and spatial association of positive environmental samples with positive samples from AFP or clinical enterovirus surveillance was found in only eight countries. Interpretation: Analysis of poliovirus-positive samples from AFP, clinical enterovirus, and environmental surveillance revealed that type 3 poliovirus was the most prevalent type detected. Most poliovirus-positive samples were identified as vaccine strains. No information on sequences was available. Funding: This study was funded by WHO Regional Office for Europe and received financial support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Vaccine hesitancy is a widely noted challenge in the struggle against communicable diseases. This was clearly demonstrated in the Covid-19 vaccine drives in South Africa and the world over. While social responses to vaccines are well documented, the literature tells the story of vaccine hesitancy through a singular focus on individuals who, motivated by various reasons, oppose a public health intervention. Such a one-sided exploration perpetuates the "single story" of vaccine hesitancy and overlooks the role of other actors and processes that may have an influence on how people perceive vaccines. My research looks beyond this "single story" of vaccine hesitancy by adding the dimension of an ethnographic exploration of a wide range of public health professionals — epidemiologists, virologist, pathologists, nurses and registrars — who are tasked with safeguarding the population in Gauteng province against the spread of communicable diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite coordinated efforts at global level, through the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), poliomyelitis disease (Polio) is still a major public health issue. The wild poliovirus type-1 (WPV1) is still endemic in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and new circulations of the WPV1 were confirmed in southeast Africa in 2021, in Malawi and Mozambique. The circulating vaccine derived polioviruses (cVDPV) are also causing outbreaks worldwide. The Task Force for Global Health (TFGH)'s Polio Surge Capacity Support Program, established in 2019, is an effort to reinforce the existing partnership with the GPEI to strengthen countries' capacities for polio outbreak preparedness and response. In four years, its coordinated efforts with GPEI partners have resulted in a remarkable improvement in the early detection of poliovirus circulation and reducing the missed children gaps in many countries. However, these encouraging results cannot hide an increasingly complex programmatic environment with numerous funding and operational challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundVaccination efforts to eradicate polio currently focus on children under 5 years of age, among whom most cases of poliomyelitis still occur. However, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), an outbreak of wild poliovirus type 1 occurred in 2010-2011 in which 16% of cases occurred among adults; in a related outbreak in the neighboring Republic of Congo, 75% of cases occurred among the same adult age-group. Given that infected adults may transmit poliovirus, this study was designed to assess adult immunity against polioviruses.MethodsWe assessed poliovirus seroprevalence using dried blood spots from 5,526 adults aged 15-59 years from the 2013-2014 Demographic and Health Survey in the DRC.ResultsAmong adults in the DRC, 74%, 72%, and 57% were seropositive for neutralizing antibodies for poliovirus types 1, 2, and 3, respectively. For all three serotypes, seroprevalence tended to be higher among older age groups, those living in households with more children, and among women.ConclusionsProtection against poliovirus is generally low among adults in the DRC, particularly for type 3 poliovirus. The lack of acquired immunity in adults suggests a potentially limited poliovirus circulation over the lifetime of those surveyed (spanning 1954 through 2014) and transmission of vaccine-derived poliovirus in this age group while underscoring the risk of these outbreaks among adults in the DRC.

In the summer of 2022, a vaccination campaign for the prevention of poliomyelitis was launched and "The CDC recommend that all children be vaccinated against polio, or poliomyelitis". The scientific community is on the alert for new cases of polio, which is spreading. Although polio seemed to have been almost completely eradicated throughout the world, the disease has surprisingly reappeared in some Western countries. The risk of international spread of poliovirus remains a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). The authors reviewed recent polio cases in some western countries which have caused significant public health concern and they underline the meaning and weight of this issue emphasizing the importance of vaccination. In June 2022, the British authorities announced that they had detected traces of a form of polio derived from a vaccine strain in the wastewater of some London boroughs. Although no cases of disease were identified, the British government immediately announced that it was proceeding to reinstate polio vaccination for all children. A few weeks later, on July 18, 2022, the New Jersey Department of Health notified the CDCP of the detection of type-2 poliovirus in an unvaccinated young man in the New York metropolitan area. This case immediately triggered an appeal from the CDCP to get vaccinated and, above all, to vaccinate children. Low vaccination coverage means that the population is constantly at risk of further cases of paralytic poliomyelitis. The appeal to vaccinate children against polio is crucial, as prevention through vaccination is the only defense against the disease. We think that an efficient vaccination campaign can positively influence the process of eliminating the virus. At the same time, however, it demonstrates that simply lowering one's guard can quickly lead to a resurgence of polio cases. Hence, until polio is eradicated, we can be sure that contagion by the wild virus and the risk of vaccine-derived poliovirus will remain possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on updates in the efforts by the World Health Assembly to eradicate poliomyelitis around the world under its Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) from January 2021 to March 2023. Also cited are the cases of wild poliovirus (WPV) observed in countries like Pakistan, Mozambique, and Afghanistan, and the possible outbreaks due to circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV).

Elena Cojocaru,1 Cristian Cojocaru,2 Elena Cojocaru3 &ast;, Cristian Iulian Oancea4 &#x002A1Morpho-Functional Sciences II Department, Faculty of Medicine, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iasi, 700115, Romania; 2Medical III Department, Faculty of Medicine, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iasi, 700115, Romania; 3Morpho-Functional Sciences I Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iasi, 700115, Romania; 4Department of Pulmonology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy ”Victor Babeș”, Timisoara, 300041, Romania&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Cristian Cojocaru, Medical III Department, Faculty of Medicine, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 16 Universitatii Street, Iasi, 700115, Romania, Email cristian.cojocaru@umfiasi.roBackground: The unprecedented exodus in the history of the European Union of more than 6 million Ukrainian refugees (May 13, 2022) is a cause for concern and could lead to a new difficult situation in terms of infectious disease control. Following the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, Europe is facing a new challenge that could lead to a new wave of COVID-19 and an increase in the number of cases of tuberculosis or eradicated diseases, such as polio.Aim: The purpose of this analysis was to provide an overview of lung diseases and health risks that could be encountered in refugees from Ukraine and translated to European Union`countries.Methods: A systematic review was conducted in PubMed, World Health Organization, the UN Refugee Agency and the government’s websites. Selected publications investigated the health problems arising from Ukrainian population migration from conflict areas and their impact on the public health system in the adoptive countries. The main potentially contagious diseases in Ukraine have also been reviewed.Results: The population of Ukraine has serious public health problems such as SARS-CoV-2 infection, multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, high levels of drug resistance and difficulties with an effective vaccination program, so there are significant risks of developing epidemics in transit or host countries. The current crisis has major peculiarities because the migrants were not concentrated in the camps but there was a dispersion of them on large territories of European countries.Conclusion: In order to meet the health needs of refugees, it is necessary to adapt health systems culturally and linguistically, to train health workers on the particularities of existing diseases in the countries of refugee origin, and to facilitate collection of medical data on migrants’ health.Keywords: migrants, Ukraine, COVID-19, tuberculosis, polio, public health

Poliomyelitis has been eliminated from all countries of the world except Pakistan and Afghanistan. One of the major reasons is the stigmas associated with the polio vaccine that has been repetitively discussed in literature, and governments of both the countries are already making serious efforts to control this public health challenge, but till this moment, the state officials have not introduced any surveillance strategy for the security of polio workers in National Emergency Action Plan (NEAP) for Polio Eradication. This report highlights the issue of targeted killing and terrorism attacks on polio vaccinators in Pakistan and also devises a surveillance strategy to provide security to polio workers at immediate possible because the current chaos in Afghanistan will ultimately lead to more terrorist attacks on polio vaccinators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Polio supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) are one of the polio eradication pillars in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) that increased the immunization coverage and made progress towards polio eradication. However, socioecological challenges faced during SIAs contribute to suboptimal campaign quality. The aim of this review is to identify the reported challenges during polio supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) and associated improvement strategies based on the socioecological model (SEM). Methods. Articles were searched from three databases which were WOS, Scopus, and PubMed. The systemic review identified the primary articles related to SIA that focused on the impact of immunization coverage, challenges, and improvement strategies. The inclusion criteria were open access English articles that were published between 2012 and 2021 and conducted in the Asia region. Results. There are nine articles described and explained regarding some form of supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) in their findings across Asia region. The majority of studies selected reported on post vaccination coverage and revealed a multifaceted challenge faced during SIAs which are widely diverse range from the microlevel of interpersonal aspects up to the macrolevel of government policy. Upon further analysis, the intervention at community level was the most dominant strategies reported during the SIA program. Conclusions. An effective SIAs program provides the opportunity to increase the national capacity of the polio immunization program, reducing inequities in service delivery and offering additional public health benefits in controlling polio outbreaks in both endemic and nonendemic countries. Strengthening routine immunization (RI) programmes is also important for the sustainability of SIA's programs. Despite the challenges and hurdles, many Asian countries exhibited great political willingness to boost polio immunization coverage through SIA efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The use of geographic information system (GIS) technologies to improve access to health is gaining momentum in Africa. This has become more pertinent with the increasing penetration of mobile-phone technology and internet use, and calls for innovative strategies to support implementation of the World Health Organization Sustainable Development Goals for universal health coverage on the continent. The huge potential benefits of GIS to advance health service delivery in Africa is, however, yet to be fully harnessed due to critical challenges such as proliferation of pilot projects, poor coordination, inadequate preparedness of the health workforce for GIS, lack of interoperability, and inadequate sustainable financing. To discuss these challenges and propose the way forward for rapid, cost-effective, and sustainable deployment of GIS, the African Regional GIS Summit was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, on 7–10 October 2019 under the umbrella of the AFRO GIS Centre.

Since “Global Polio Eradication Initiative” was launched by World Health Assembly in 1988, the incidence rate of polio has been reduced by more than 99%, and the whole world has entered a post polio era nowadays. China has been a polio free status recognized by World Health Organization for 22 years and most people believe that no more public health concerns need to be given. How is the population of polio survivors in China? What strategies of health economics and actions of public health for those with polio are ethically appropriate? This article, first of all, deeply summarizes and analyzes the history, current situation and unmet needs of population with polio sequelae and post-polio syndrome in China, and then, puts forward important issues faced by polio survivors who natural infected and who due to vaccine associated paralytic polio and vaccine derived poliovirus. The management of polio survivor is not only a medical and rehabilitation problem involving accessibility, accommodations, but also a public health issue, and most importantly, an ethical concern. Furthermore, from the perspective of ethics such as Justice and Cooperation, the author demonstrates the rationality and necessity of continuing to pay more attention to polio sequela cases at this stage in China. Finally, many valuable suggestions and practical recommendations are given.

Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a disabling and life-threatening disease caused by three poliovirus (PV) serotypes. The virus spreads from person to person and can infect a person's spinal cord, causing paralysis. In 1988, when the WHO registered 350,000 cases of poliomyelitis in the world and 70,000 which occurred in Africa alone, global poliomyelitis eradication was proposed by the World Health Organization to its member States. On 25 August 2020, while the world was waging war against the Coronavirus pandemic, a historic milestone was reached: Africa was officially declared polio-free. It is an important result obtained thanks to an intensive large-scale vaccination campaign. The road was far from smooth, nevertheless, according to the WHO, a great effort needs to be made in order to facilitate access to vaccination and to promote its implementation in those countries where coverage is low and vaccine hesitancy is high because the risk of the spread of poliomyelitis is still relevant. Eradication of the virus in Africa provides us with an excellent opportunity to commemorate the many scientists who contributed to achieving this epoch-making goal: first of all, Jonas Salk, who developed a killed-virus vaccine in 1952, and, especially, Albert Sabin, who in 1961 launched programs of mass immunisation with his oral vaccine against poliomyelitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers global public health news briefs as of June 1, 2024. The Israeli military cut off humanitarian aid to the Gaza side of the Rafah and Kerem Shalom border meant to support hospitals. The new TAK-003 dengue vaccine was prequalified by the World Health Organization (WHO). The wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) outbreak in Malawi and Mozambique has been recommended to be closed.

A recent meningitis outbreak in Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan has resulted in 12 deaths, including six children. This highlights the urgent need for improvements in Pakistan's public health system to prevent future outbreaks. Meningitis is a serious and potentially fatal disease caused by pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Prompt diagnosis, effective treatment, and vaccination programs are necessary to combat meningitis outbreaks. The government and health officials must increase funding for public health programs, increase vaccination coverage, and raise awareness in local communities about the disease and the importance of vaccination. Coordinated strategies, like those seen in successful campaigns in other countries, are crucial for reducing disease volumes. Additionally, increased funding for meningitis research is needed to develop more effective treatments. Strengthening public health systems and implementing disease prevention measures are essential to protect citizens from preventable diseases. [Extracted from the article]

The unprovoked aggression of Russian military forces on Ukraine in February 2022 has caused a high influx of refugees, including children, to neighboring countries, particularly Poland. This caused additional pressures on the healthcare system and the need to meet challenges for public health, such as those related to infectious diseases. Here, we discuss the potential epidemiological risks associated with the war-induced influx of refugees (coronavirus disease 2019, measles, pertussis, tetanus, and poliomyelitis) and highlight the need for their swift management through institutional support, educational campaigns, counteracting antiscience misinformation, and pursuing vaccinations of refugees but also improving or maintaining good levels of immunization in populations of countries welcoming them. These are necessary actions to avoid overlapping of war and infectious diseases and associated public health challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zoonoses are a major public health concern. The Ethiopia CORE Group Polio Project (CGPP) integrated active surveillance of the Priority Zoonotic Diseases (PZDs) using the existing polio infrastructure. The purpose of this review was to explore the processes, opportunities, successes and challenges of the integration of PZDs surveillance and response into the polio program. It document reviews of reports, minutes, desk review of CGPP secretariat staff and interview of field-level coordinators. The project started with development of integrated plan of Polio and Global Health Security (GHS) project. The project team assembled technical experts from the CGPP Secretariat and partner to develop a revised and harmonized training guide and manual for the frontline community volunteers. The project trained 168 government surveillance staff from both human and livestock health sectors using a one health approach training of trainers. In 2020, the trained professionals further trained 5,481 community members, 2,808 frontline human health workers, and 1,589 animal health assistants (AHAs). Following the training, the project launched field activities and monitoring. In 2021, the project volunteers reported 263 PZDs alerts through the Open Data Kit system. In addition, 70 one health task force teams were established at Woreda, zonal and regional levels. The project community volunteers visited 683,479 households and reaching 1,765,584 people in financial year (FY) 2021 alone. Major opportunities for integration included budget integration, the existence of trained community surveillance volunteers, established linkages between frontline workers and community volunteers, and the existence of mapped cross-border activities. On the other hand, problem of delayed in an integrated monitoring mechanism was the challenge for the implementation of one health approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of geographic information system (GIS) technologies to improve access to health is gaining momentum in Africa. This has become more pertinent with the increasing penetration of mobile-phone technology and internet use, and calls for innovative strategies to support implementation of the World Health Organization Sustainable Development Goals for universal health coverage on the continent. The huge potential benefits of GIS to advance health service delivery in Africa is, however, yet to be fully harnessed due to critical challenges such as proliferation of pilot projects, poor coordination, inadequate preparedness of the health workforce for GIS, lack of interoperability, and inadequate sustainable financing. To discuss these challenges and propose the way forward for rapid, cost-effective, and sustainable deployment of GIS, the African Regional GIS Summit was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, on 7–10 October 2019 under the umbrella of the AFRO GIS Centre. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methods: Vaccine safety surveillance is increasingly becoming a critical area in national immunization programs. Uganda conducted a Measles-Rubella catchup and Polio mass vaccination campaign between 16 and 20 October 2019. We conducted a descriptive analysis of the adverse events following immunization reported following this campaign to inform policy updates. The target age-group for the campaign was children aged 9 months to 14 completed years, while the target age-group for polio campaign was 0-59 months. We conducted active search for the serious adverse event following immunization that were reported. Results: Among the 19,241,348 persons vaccinated during the Measles-Rubella catch-up and Polio mass campaign, 10,612,278 (55%) received MR vaccine alone; while 8,629,070 (45%) received either bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV) alone or MR and bOPV for children 9 to 59 months. The mean age of the children was 8.3 years, range 0.5-14 years, including 68 (47%) boys, 64 (44%) girls and 13 (9%) missing sex classification. The serious adverse events following immunization (AEFI) included; toxic epidermal necrolysis 3 (2.1%), Steven Johnson syndrome 2 (1.4%), severe anemia 2 (1.4%), febrile illness 1 (0.7%), sudden respiratory failure 1 (0.7%), bullous impetigo 1 (0.7%) and injection abscess 19 (13%). Conclusion: AEFI reporting in Uganda is low, and concerted efforts need to be undertaken to create community awareness about the importance of reporting. Additionally, the health care systems should be strengthened to efficiently investigate all potential signals that led to quality causality assessment of serious and other AEFI of public health concern so as to provide correct information to the community and prevent false association of vaccines and or vaccination to incorrect signals, and build a resilient immunization program that is trusted by the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Vaccination reduces the burden of vaccine-preventable diseases and their mortality. • Booster doses of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis and poliovirus vaccines in older children are recommended. • In Asia, outbreaks of diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and poliovirus have occurred. • This may be because of inadequate booster coverage or gaps in recommendations. • There is a public health need for booster vaccinations in older children. In recent years, outbreaks and a rising incidence of diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis have occurred in Asia, particularly in older children. A systematic search of MEDLINE and Embase was conducted from January 2000 to October 2020 to identify the epidemiology of diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and poliomyelitis in children and adolescents (aged 3–18 years) in Asia. The results were then related to vaccination schedules, booster coverage rates, pertussis source of infection, and booster immunogenicity, as identified by a pragmatic review. The International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) registration: #CRD42020222445. A total of 35 studies were included in this review. Limited data were reported on the epidemiology of diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and poliomyelitis. Data from studies reporting the incidence of diphtheria and pertussis exemplify the shift in epidemiology to older children/adolescents. Seroprevalence data suggest that immunity to pertussis and diphtheria is below the level of herd immunity in several Asian countries in this population. The true burden of diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus in children aged 3-18 years in Asia is unknown because of weak or absent nationwide surveillance systems. The available evidence highlights the inadequacies in immunity, either by gaps in a recommendation or suboptimal booster coverage, supporting the public health need for booster vaccinations in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poliomyelitis is a disease whose incidence steadily increased during the second half of the twentieth century on both sides of the Atlantic. If in the United States the epidemics which afflicted young children each summer became a major public health issue, in France, polio was considered less pressing than other diseases. This article, based on original archives from the Pasteur and Mérieux institutes, analyses the polio control strategies and policies implemented by France from the mid-1950s to the end of the 1960s. The article examines the role of two key actors and institutions that mobilised the French health authorities against the disease: Pierre Lépine and the Institut Pasteur as well as Charles Mérieux and the Institut Mérieux. Lépine developed an effective injected polio vaccine which was first used before being supplemented with the oral polio vaccine. If the two main protagonists and their institutions worked together, they each implemented different actions and manoeuvres, at different times with the aim to raise awareness of the fight against the disease. The national and international relations of the key French actors were decisive in the development and production of the polio vaccines and their application. This work contributes to understanding processes of polio vaccines choice at the level of national institutions and analyses the political and scientific networks built in support of polio vaccination, to finally move towards compulsory vaccination. Ultimately, this study describes the historical processes by which this disease became conflated with a biotechnology of collective protection in France. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we begin by discussing approximately thirty picture books dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic published digitally in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and other English-speaking countries in the first six months of 2020. The worldwide impact of COVID-19 resulted in the rapid global digital publication of numerous English-language children's picture books aimed at informing child readers about public health concerns and how children could contribute to improving health outcomes. This exploration of contemporary picture books is intertwined with examinations of two other public health crises that appeared in literature for children: the discussion of British children's health in the Junior Red Cross Magazine in the 1920s and the American polio outbreak discussed in educational materials and fiction in the 1940s and 1950s. These comparisons not only enable us to situate the COVID-19 pandemic within a history of transnational responses to concerns about children's health but also to expand our understanding of how children are positioned to take individual responsibility for community public health issues. This wide range of Anglophone texts published in the United Kingdom, the United States, and around the world demonstrates the extent to which adults attempt to guide children towards specific behaviours to promote individual health. They also reflect a common understanding of childhood in which children have an obligation to contribute to societal wellbeing through their individual actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The burden of oral cancer in Nigeria is largely under-reported. The available data on oral cancer etiology/risk factors, clinical features, disease burden, and literacy rate in Nigeria points towards a possible explosion in prevalence in the near future, which poses a serious public health concern. The general medical and dental practitioners (GMDPs) in Nigeria can salvage this looming problem through appropriate public health and clinical interventions. This narrative review article re-emphasizes the key roles of GMDPs towards oral cancer eradication in Nigeria. It also discusses oral cancer case definition, etiology, risk factors, and the epidemiological burden in the Nigerian context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human trafficking has received considerable attention from policymakers, researchers and service providers globally, with resulting interventions often positioning trafficking as something that simply exists. Drawing on Bacchi's 'What's the Problem Represented to be?' approach, this article proposes that trafficking is continually made through efforts designed to eradicate it. We conducted 22 interviews with representatives from social service organisations funded by the government of Ontario, Canada, for anti-trafficking programming. These interviews provide insight into how trafficking is being represented and with what effects. Our findings suggest that organisational initiatives often rely on individualised health-related interventions, such as trauma-informed counselling and other mental health support, to address trafficking. In the process, various sex work activities are deemed 'symptoms' of trafficking, and perceived pathways to engaging in sex work (such as drug use/dependence, a history of trauma and low self-esteem) are produced as 'causes' or 'risk factors'. We contend that by pathologising sex work and sex workers, organisations are employing a contradictory neoliberal paternalism to advance a public health representation of human trafficking that simultaneously responsibilises and disenfranchises purported victims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CAR healthcare professionals are challenged by a limited healthcare system and a low national healthcare budget, which serve as an obstacle to achieving optimal health and universal health coverage (Mashal et al. [13]; Bagcchi [1]). Impact of COVID-19 and conflict on healthcare centres in CAR The healthcare centres of low-income countries such as CAR were more vulnerable to being overwhelmed due to COVID-19. Conclusion Humanitarian conflicts in the Central African Republic (CAR) during 2012-2015 have limited vaccine outreach due to the destruction of healthcare facilities, security concerns and vaccine shortages. The goal of achieving equity in immunization outcomes has sharpened the focus of global health agencies worldwide, as there is an expansion of efforts in the control, elimination and eradication of vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs) most especially in conflict zones (United States Agency for International Development, [22]). [Extracted from the article]