Scientific Publications by FDA Staff

Nat Rev Microbiol 2007 Dec;5(12):952-8

Vaccination against polio should not be stopped.

Chumakov K, Ehrenfeld E, Wimmer E, Agol VI

Ehrenfeld E (reprint author), NIH, Natl Inst Allergy & Infect Dis, Bldg 10, Bethesda, MD 20892 USA NIH, Natl Inst Allergy & Infect Dis, Bethesda, MD 20892 USA US FDA, Ctr Biol Evaluat & Res, Rockville, MD 20852 USA SUNY Stony Brook, Sch Med, Dept Mol Genet & Microbiol, Stony Brook, NY 11794 USA Russian Acad Med Sci, Inst Poliomyelitis & Viral Encephalitis, Moscow 142782, Russia

The striking 50-year-long decline in the incidence of poliomyelitis has stalled in the past 7 years, which has led to calls for an urgent re-assessment of eradication and post-eradication campaign strategies. The current plan of eliminating the circulation of wild poliovirus so that further immunization will be unnecessary does not take into account recent scientific data and political realities that limit the likelihood that this strategy can sustain prevention of the disease. It is crucially important that high levels of population immunity are maintained against polio in the foreseeable future.