It has now been three years since the world’s physicians last confirmed a human case of wild poliovirus type 3 (WPV3) — an exciting milestone for the health community.
To maintain this progress, health professionals continue to encourage people to maintain their immunizations against the virus. They say supporting vaccination campaigns and strong surveillance will guarantee that WPV3 is fully eliminated. Ongoing problems like missed children, low vaccination rates, and surveillance quality, must still be addressed.
There has also been significant progress made against another strain called wild poliovirus type 2 (WPV2). On Sept. 21, health officials announced that this strain has been eliminated as the strong year for ending polio continues. The World Health Organization (WHO) also has declared Nigeria to be free of polio, which also means that Africa is free of all polio-endemic countries. There are just two endemic countries left across the globe.
As of today, there is only one wild poliovirus type that is still in circulation. This is tremendous progress, even though still more progress needs to be made.
