Agency says polio can be wiped out by 2000

A child receives the oral vaccine

But vaccinations must continue

May 2, 1998
Web posted at: 11:43 p.m. EDT (0343 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- If vaccination programs continue, polio could be eradicated by 2000, the World Health Organization said Saturday.

Nearly 450 million children were vaccinated in 1997, WHO said in its annual report to be released Sunday.

But the program is in danger of losing momentum and becoming a victim of its own success, said Dr. Harry Hull, who directs WHO's global eradication effort.

"It's like climbing a mountain and it gets steeper and steeper and steeper the closer we get to the end," he said. "We've made fabulous progress. The number of cases worldwide is down by 90 percent. Polio is totally gone from the Americas. It's gone from Europe. It's now gone from China. It's concentrated to south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa right now. So we're winning the battle but we've still got a long way to go."

CNN's Richard Blystone reports

One problem is money. Hull said there was a $60 million shortfall in the program's budget. Rotary International has pledged $400 million for the campaign, but WHO says more money is needed.

The agency is asking wealthy nations like the United States and Canada for more funding. The last polio outbreak in the United States was in 1979.

Like smallpox, polio is caused by a virus that lives only in humans. Once the human reservoir is gone, the ancient disease, which can cripple and paralyze, will disappear.

A mother brings her child to be vaccinated

The disease is easy to fight. The vaccine requires several doses but only costs eight cents a dose, requiring two drops by mouth to administer.

"Our objective is to hold these mass campaigns reaching every child under 5 in the affected countries," Hull said. "India was able to immunize this year 134 million in one day. I'd say that's nothing short of miraculous."

Before the vaccine was discovered in the 1950s, polio was a feared disease. One out of 10 victims died and others faced life with an iron lung breathing for them.

Hull said those days could easily return if industrialized countries let their guard down.

"This is a highly infectious disease. It can cross the oceans, it can come into any country in the world in a matter of 24 hours," he said.

Correspondent Richard Blystone and Reuters contributed to this report.

Related sites:

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• World Health Organization
• Rotary International
• Polio Prevention and Vaccination Information

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