A hexavalent vaccine containing diphtheria toxoid, tetanus toxoid, whole cell pertussis, Haemophilius influenza type B, hepatitis B and inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) may: (i) increase the efficiency of vaccination campaigns, (ii) reduce the number of injections thereby reducing needlestick injuries, and (iii) ensure better protection against pertussis as compared to vaccines containing acellu...

Prenatal exposure to adverse environmental conditions is related to increased adult mortality in regions where infections are highly prevalent, yet there is little evidence of the impact of perinatal conditions on the risk of severe infections throughout life. Using prospectively collected data from 21 604 like-sexed Swedish twins of known zygosity born in 1926-1958, we examined the risk of pol...

The Polio Eradication Committee (PEC) of Indian Academy of Pediatrics Committee has periodically conducted National Consultative Meetings on Polio Eradication (NCMPE). The third NCMPE was held on 19 March 2010 at New Delhi. The names of participant experts are given in Annexure 1. The recommendations of the first NCMPE and the ‘IAP Position’ on polio eradication as enunciated in the second NCMP...

The magnitude of the public health program for the eradication of poliomyelitis launched by the Government of India and the State Governments has few parallels. Over 87.77 million children, including 79.29 million children less than three years of age, were given a dose of oral polio on one day throughout the country on 9 December 1995. In the second round on 20 January 1996 over 93.118 million...

OBJECTIVES To explore the association of maternal education and empowerment with childhood polio vaccination using nationally representative data of Pakistani mothers in a reproductive age group. DESIGN Cross-sectional. SETTING Secondary analysis of Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS), 2012-2013 data was performed. PARTICIPANTS Of the 13 558 mothers included in the survey sample...

The global health effort to eradicate poliomyelitis (polio) has encountered a number of unforeseen and unpredictable challenges. This article provides a timely review of progress made toward eradication, including the polio vaccines in use, and explores the reasons for delays in eradication target dates. It provides an overview of some of the remaining barriers to eradication and looks toward o...

Australia, like all polio-free countries and regions, remains at risk of a wild poliovirus importation until polio is eradicated globally. The most probable route of importation will be through a traveller arriving in Australia either by air or sea from a polio-endemic or re-infected country. While the overall risk of an imported wild poliovirus infection leading to transmission within Australi...