Polio Pipeline - 8th Edition

From the Polio Eradication Research and Product Development team at the World Health Organization (WHO), the 8th edition of the Polio Pipeline newsletter provides an in-depth look at the vision for the post-eradication era, including the eventual cessation of oral polio vaccine (OPV) from routine immunisation programmes. While this Polio Pipeline edition is not specifically focused on communication, it shares what could be described as key information for those working toward polio eradication.

For instance, now that the feasibility of polio eradication has been recognised, questions need to be asked, such as: at what point should the use of oral polio vaccine (OPV) be ceased, and should it be stopped by individual serotype? For example, wild poliovirus type 2 (WPV2) has been eradicated globally since 1999, and since then all type 2 cases are related to the vaccine itself. Is it possible to produce an affordable inactivated polio vaccine (IPV)? How can the risk of vaccine-derived polioviruses be effectively managed immediately after OPV cessation? These and further questions, which are explored in this issue of Polio Pipeline, are described here as important for addressing remaining knowledge gaps and informing policy.