Poliomyelitis is a highly infectious disease primarily affecting children, transmitted person-to-person and causing paralysis. The document outlines the polio vaccination schedule, its benefits including herd immunity and paralysis prevention, as well as common myths surrounding the vaccine, highlighting its extensive impact and safety. Adverse effects are generally mild with severe reactions being rare, underscoring the importance of vaccination in reducing polio cases by 99% since 1983.

1. POLIO VACCINATION
“SAVE CHILDREN FROM POLIOMYELITIS BY VACCINATING THEM”
Group A: Akhil Shaji, Christa Maria Joel, Elijah Kwame Adade
Poliomyelitis is a highly infectious and fatal disease that leads to paralysis. It is caused by the poliovirus. Children are
the most susceptible hosts. It is transmitted from person to person.
Types of Polio Vaccine Polio Vaccine Administration and
Schedule (UK)
❑ Dose: children, adults: 0.5ml
❑ Route: intramuscular (IM)/
subcutaneous (SC)
❑ Site: infants, children: anterolateral
aspect of thigh
older children, adults: deltoid region
for IM, posterior upper arm for SC.
❑ Schedule:
• 8, 12 and 16 weeks of age.
• 3 years and 4 months of age.
• 14 years of age
Benefits and impact of polio vaccine
• Protects individual and community from Polio,
prevents lifelong paralysis, offers herd immunity of
80-86%.
• Reduce incidence and mortality of infection by
interrupting transmissions by 84-90%.
• 85% children under 5 years worldwide received 3
doses of the vaccine. Number of paralytic polio cases
declined by 99%.
Adverse effects of polio vaccine
• Mild: sore spot in injection site,
dizziness, vision changes, ringing in
ears, shoulder pain.
• Severe: 1 in million doses –
anaphylaxis.
• Contraindication: hypersensitivity to
vaccine components like neomycin,
polymyxin B, streptomycin.
Myths about polio vaccine
• Myth 1: Child should not be vaccinated multiple
times.
WRONG: Safe to administer 4 or more doses of OPV
to children, it ensures full immunity against polio.
• Myth 2: Has severe side effects.
WRONG: Saved more than 5 million children from
paralysis. The benefits outweigh the adverse events.
• Myth 3: Contains anti fertility drugs, leads to
impotence.
WRONG: One of the most common myth. During
production there are no antifertility agents involved.
References
CDC (2018).Polio Vaccination. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/polio/index.html (Accessed on 18/04/2022)
Health Analytics Asia (2020). Three common myths about polio vaccine. Available at: https://www.ha-asia.com/myths-about-polio-vaccine-why-they-aren’t-true/ (Accessed
on 18/04/2022).
NHS (2021). Polio. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/polio/ (Accessed on 18/04/2022)
Wikimedia Commons. Polio. Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=Polio&title=Special:MediaSearch&type=image (Accessed on 18/04/2022)
SABIN SALK
Live attenuated,
oral
Dead, injectable
Cheap Expensive
Humoral, cell
mediated
immunity
Humoral immunity
3 doses- 95%
immunity
3 doses- 99%
immunity
Production:
Weakening 3 polio
virus strains by
culturing in
monkey kidney
cells
Production:
Poliovirus strain
inactivated with
formalin
Symptoms of Polio
Mild: Fever, sore throat, fatigue,
nausea, headache and abdominal
pain.
Serious: pins and needles sensation in
legs, meningitis and paralysis.
Fall in incidence in Polio infections
since 1983 due to vaccination
campaigns.