What is that Polio Picture? This picture shows President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as he visits a West Virginia foundation for children with disabilities in 1935. FDR would go on to found the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, now known as the March of Dimes. Image Credit: FDR Presidential Library & Museum.

Addressing cVDPVs – Because of sub-national immunity gaps, some countries have experienced outbreaks of vaccine-derived polioviruses, mutated strains from the weakened vaccine-virus originally contained in the oral poliovirus.  After vaccination, children naturally shed this weakened strain, and in areas of adequate immunity, this helps confer protection to more children through passive immunization.  However, in areas with poor immunity levels, this vaccine virus can on rare occasions regain virulence and cause outbreaks of cVDPVs.

Since 2016, the majority of cVDPV outbreaks are due to type 2, but can in fact be caused also by type 1 and type 3.  This is why after the global certification of wild polioviruses, the phased removal of OPV will continue, to ensure that in the long run, no child will ever again be paralyzed by any poliovirus – be it wild or vaccine-derived.  – from the GPEI Polio Investment Case 2019-2023 Report

A Win Against Polio is a Win for Global Health!

How Many Children have we saved from the paralysis of Polio?
That number has now reached 20 Million! That’s a number to celebrate and to share!

2021 Circulating Vaccine Derived Polio Cases – 32 – Afghanistan – 28 (308 in 2020), Angola – 0 (3 in 2020),Benin – 0 (3 in 2020), Burkina Faso – 0 (60 in 2020), Cameroon – 0 (7 in 2020), CAR – 0 (4 in 2020), Chad – 0 (99 in 2020), Congo – 0 (2 in 2020), Cote d’ Ivoire – 0 (72 in 2020), DRC – 0 (81 in 2020), Ethiopia – 0 (26 in 2020), Ghana – 0 (11 in 2020), Guinea – 0 (45 in 2020), Mali – 0 (43 in 2020), Malaysia – 0 (1 in 2020),  Niger – 0 (8 in 2020), Nigeria – 3 (8 in 2020), Pakistan – 6 (135 in 2020), Philippines – 0 (1 in 2020), Senegal  – 2 (0 in 2020) ,Sierra Leone – 0 (9 in 2020), Somalia – 0 (13 in 2020), South Sudan – 0 (54 in 2020), Sudan – 0 (58 in 2020), Tajikistan – 5 (1 in 2020), Togo – 0 (9 in 2020), and Yemen – 0 (30 in 2020).

A total of 1,077 Vaccine Derived Polio cases were reported in 26 countries in 2020.

Quote of the Day

“The Rotary Foundation reminds us constantly why we are here.  It reminds us who it is we serve.  It reminds us that these days, these hours, while we yet walk on this earth – that this is our time and we must grasp it.” – K,R. “Ravi” Ravindran, Trustee Chair of The Rotary Foundation – in a message during the Covid Pandemic – encouraging Rotarians to support Rotary’s Endowment to ensure Rotary’s future

The Final Two Polio Endemic Countries:

0 new Polio cases reported this past week.
1 Wild Polio case – 2021. The most recent cases had an onset of paralysis on 1/1/21.
56 Wild Polio cases – 2020.  Eight WPV1 & CVDPV2-Positive Environmental Samples were reported this week in Afghanistan.

Our Goal is Global Polio Eradication!!

Terry Ziegler, Endowment/Major Gifts Adviser Rotary Region 36