World Polio Day

In 1988, the viral disease, which attacks the nervous system and causes wasting and paralysis of muscle tissue, was considered endemic in 125 countries. Thanks to WHO initiatives and polio vaccination, today the list of countries has been reduced to two - Pakistan and Afghanistan. Soviet epidemiologists and virologists M.P. simultaneously worked on the composition of vaccinations that could be used to prevent the disease. Chumakov and A.A. Smorodintsev, American specialists H. Koprowski, D.E. Salk and A. Sabin. In 1950, the scientists’ efforts were crowned with success. Hilary Koprowski came up with a vaccine for “infantile paralysis” based on a weakened virus, and Jonas Edward Salk came up with an inactivated one. Thanks to the vaccination campaign for children, which began after receiving a drug that causes the body to develop immunity against polio, there has been a 99% reduction in the incidence of polio worldwide. In honor of the invention of the vaccine, World Polio Day was established, which is celebrated on D. E. Salk’s birthday - October 24. The initiator of the celebration is the international non-profit organization Rotary International. In honor of World Polio Day, educational events are held in medical organizations and educational institutions to inform society about the prevention of the disease. During lectures, symposia and conferences, epidemiologists talk about the need for vaccination and the dire consequences that occur after the virus enters the human body. On October 24, printed materials are distributed that encourage people not to forget about the existence of the disease and ways to prevent it. Polio is most common in children under 5 years of age. Comprehensive vaccination with inactivated and oral drugs, which are available in most countries of the world free of charge, is intended to protect the younger generation from spinal paralysis. In the Russian Federation, children receive vaccinations at 3, 4 and 6 months. Scheduled revaccination is carried out when the child reaches the ages of one and a half, 4.5 and 6 years. People from all over the world are at risk of infection. Therefore, doctors and volunteers go to the most remote corners of the planet to vaccinate children, saving them from the disease. Their help is most often needed by the population of developing countries living below the poverty line. The polio virus is extremely rarely transmitted from an infected person to another person by airborne droplets. Most often, it enters the body with dirty water and contaminated food as a result of triggering the oral-fecal mechanism. Therefore, prevention of polio consists not only of timely vaccination, but also of observing personal hygiene rules. The public learns about these and other ways to combat the viral disease through the annual World Polio Day.