Polio outbreak: An ongoing but ignored public health emergency of international concern – Correspondence

In the Post-COVID-19 Era, Poliomyelitis is Making a Comeback

“…Both vaccines have been certified as safe and effective by the WHO. However, we agree with Farahat et al 5 that the attenuated viruses in OPV can sometimes mutate into transmissible live viruses in areas with low vaccination rates. These viruses can be transmitted from vaccinated individuals’ feces to their environment, leading to outbreaks of cVDPV in unvaccinated populations.…”

“…These viruses can be transmitted from vaccinated individuals’ feces to their environment, leading to outbreaks of cVDPV in unvaccinated populations. 5 Therefore, under the context of immunity debt in the postpandemic era, we strongly recommend a complete shift from OPV to inactivated polio vaccine to avoid such risks. It is also worth noting that timely and strengthened environmental and wastewater monitoring should be carried out to detect early “silent” poliovirus transmission in the population rather than relying solely on clinical monitoring of acute flaccid paralysis.…”