Polio: Why Vaccines Are to Blame for Rising Number of Cases By from Children’s Health Defense
Polio cases have been on the rise globally since 2016, and the resurgence is related to the use of vaccines.
By Dr. Xiaoxu Sean Lin and Health 1+1
Many people thought that the poliovirus was extinct across the majority of the world, as the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared many continents polio-free.
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So this may come as a surprise, but in fact, polio cases have been on the rise globally since 2016, and this resurgent outbreak is related to the use of vaccines.
On July 21, the first polio case in almost one decade was reported by the New York State Department of Health.
And this case was also related to a vaccine-derived poliovirus strain. Poliovirus is non-enveloped. It is an enterovirus composed of a single-stranded RNA and a protein shell.
Roughly 3 in 4 people infected with polio are asymptomatic. Even if there are symptoms, they usually resemble those of the flu.
Yet in 1% of all polio cases, polio causes flaccid paralysis or disability, and it even can lead to death. This is then called paralytic poliomyelitis.
After contracting spinal paralytic poliomyelitis, 25% to 40% of patients will develop varying degrees of sequelae up to 15 to 40 years later, which are also known as “post-polio syndrome.”
This may be because when some patients are young, their immune system is quite strong and able to inhibit the replication of the poliovirus. As they get older, their immunity tends to decline, and the virus within their body may return to wreak havoc.
If the virus affects the neurons or muscles, then it may, in severe cases, lead to temporary or even permanent paralysis or disability, as well as reducing respiratory muscle function and even causing breathing to stop, which then leads to death.
Why is Polio reemerging after being ‘eradicated’?
In the 1950s, polio became a global concern. In 1955, the inactivated polio vaccines (IPV) were developed and in 1962, the oral poliovirus vaccines (OPV) were invented.
In 1988, the WHO, United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), and Rotary Foundation launched the “Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI),” with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as the major funding institute.
