World Polio Day, observed annually on October 24, is dedicated to the prevention of one of the most severe viral diseases that damages the human nervous system, causing paralysis, paresis, and muscle tissue atrophy, and can result in death or permanent disability.
Sea-news.az reports that this disease, which can develop at any age but primarily affects children under the age of 5, was a true nightmare for parents across many countries for a long time. Vaccines against the disease emerged in the 1950s. The vaccines were developed by American virologists and epidemiologists Hilary Koprowski, Jonas Edward Salk, and Albert Sabin, in close collaboration with Soviet virologists and epidemiologists M.P. Chumakov and A.A. Smorodintsev.
First, in 1950, Hilary Koprowski created a vaccine based on an attenuated (weakened) form of the poliovirus. Later, in the mid-1950s, a few years after Koprowski’s discovery, Jonas Edward Salk developed the inactivated polio vaccine. Subsequently, Albert Sabin succeeded in obtaining attenuated strains of the poliovirus. Based on these strains, he developed oral polio vaccines in the United States, while M.P. Chumakov and A.A. Smorodintsev developed them in the USSR.
The initiation of childhood vaccination led to an approximate 99 percent reduction in polio cases worldwide. Currently, most developed countries carry out comprehensive vaccination of children using a combination of inactivated and oral polio vaccines to combat the disease.
The history of World Polio Day is tied to the birthday of Jonas Edward Salk, the American scientist who created the inactivated polio vaccine.
The successful outcomes of comprehensive childhood vaccination led to the launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988. Volunteer medical professionals operating under the auspices of the World Health Organization (WHO) deliver vaccines to the most remote regions of the globe, administering immunizations to protect children from this dangerous disease.
Every year on October 24, with the participation of WHO and the support of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), medical institutions and civic organizations conduct preventive and educational events dedicated to World Polio Day. Organizing symposia and lectures, distributing visual educational materials, and calling upon the global community not to forget the ongoing threat of the poliovirus and its debilitating consequences remain the core objectives of the day. Alongside this, routine childhood immunization carries vital importance. Public health authorities must treat this process with utmost seriousness.
One of the issues particularly concerning doctors is the increasing refusal by parents to vaccinate their children. However, there are no specific curative treatments for polio, and vaccination remains the only effective means of preventing the disease.
On this day, the warmest words of gratitude are undoubtedly extended to health workers conducting vaccination campaigns in hard-to-reach areas and in countries where polio has not yet been fully brought under control.
