Polio Double-Vaccinations

"Double vaccines 'could hasten the end of polio'"
By:James Gallagher
Source: BBC News
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-28872763

Poliomyelitis, better known as just Polio, is a viral disease that causes spinal and respiratory paralysis (full or partial) and can even lead to death. Polio has been around since humans even existed, but became a major public health issue in the late Victorian times, as there were epidemics in Europe and the United States. Although Polio is incurable, vaccines have made it possible to almost completely eradicate the disease today. An oral vaccine is given to people in order to help fight to eradicate the disease, but scientists have discovered that giving a second vaccine could help speed up the efforts to free the world of the disease completely. Getting rid of the disease completely would possibly be the biggest success in global health as it is now widespread in Nigeria, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Cases have fallen by more than 99% in these countries. Each person receives two drops of the oral vaccine which contain a weakened polio virus, but it is thought that other infections might interfere with the vaccine. This lead to the solution of more than one vaccine, but it got to the point where children were taking 30 oral vaccinations by the age of 5. There were trials in India involving an injection of inactivated virus and it served as a booster jab, leading to the conclusion that both oral and injected vaccines should be used. This double-vaccine approach is being used in parts of Nigeria and soon will be used in Pakistan as well. If this approach is successful, it can save thousands of lives and possibly end Polio for good!