Africa and the polio endgame Bruce Aylward heads the global polio eradication programme which is now tantalisingly close to success. But as ever, the last mile is the most challenging

摘要

As polio eradication has progressed in Africa, it has faced two key challenges. The first was the ever-present threat of international spread of the wild poliovirus (WPV) back into polio-free countries. The second was the growing realisation that circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV) could emerge and, rarely, cause polio outbreaks in areas of low routine immunisation coverage.Today, Africa and the world finally have all of the ingredients needed to stop all polio disease, forever: polio cases and polio-infected areas are at their lowest levels ever; there is unprecedented political commitment; new tactics are being used to reach the most marginalised populations where polio transmission persists; and new, affordable vaccination options have been developed to eliminate the risk of cVDPVs.