Is Polio Back?

Posted by Contributed by President Tim Moore on Oct 06, 2022

Rotary has been working to eradicate polio for more than 35 years. Our goal of ridding the world of this disease is closer than ever.

As a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, we've reduced polio cases by 99.9 percent since our first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979.

Rotary members have contributed more than $2.1 billion and countless volunteer hours to protect nearly 3 billion children in 122 countries from this paralyzing disease. Rotary’s advocacy efforts have played a role in decisions by governments to contribute more than $10 billion to the effort.

Today, polio remains endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But it’s crucial to continue working to keep other countries polio-free. If all eradication efforts stopped today, within 10 years, polio could paralyze as many as 200,000 children each year.

Did you know:

Is polio back? Cases emerge overseas and Australia starts testing sewage

 By Sydney Pead and Samantha Hawley for ABC News Daily
Posted Mon 26 Sep 2022 at 6:00am
 
New South Wales will join other states in testing sewage for polio, as cases of the largely eradicated disease emerge overseas.
Key points:
  • NSW will join Victoria in testing water sewage for the polio virus as the disease spreads overseas
  • A patient in New York was diagnosed with paralytic polio — the first case in nine years
  • Health authorities say there is no current indication of polio infection in Australia but experts urge the public to still get vaccinated
Last month, authorities confirmed polio is spreading in London for the first time since the 1980s, and in July an unvaccinated person in New York was officially diagnosed with paralytic polio — the first case in nine years.
New York's governor has declared a state of emergency after wastewater testing revealed poliovirus has been quietly circulating in parts of the state for some time.
Professor Michael Toole, associate principal research fellow at the Burnet Institute, told the ABC News Daily podcast
 
The Rotary Club of Berwick continues to support Rotary’s world wide efforts to eradicate polio.  In early December, members and friends of Rotary will have the opportunity to attend the screening of a new film (before the general public) and help raise money for the fight against polio.