Why CDC is Working to End Polio Globally

What to know

CDC has a long history of fighting polio – beginning in the 1950s. Today, CDC is focused on ending polio globally. As a partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), CDC is working towards two goals: 1) permanently stop the spread of wild poliovirus, and 2) stop outbreaks of variant poliovirus.

Preventing disability and saving lives

The legs of a little girl sitting on a couch. She is wearing a plaid dress and red tennis shoes, and there is a brace on her right leg, which is tilted to the side.
A three-year old child in Malawi experienced paralysis in her leg in 2021, as a result of the first case of wild polio reported in Southeastern Africa since 2016. ©UNICEF/U.S. CDC/UN0641187/Paul

Polio can lead to paralysis and death.‎

In 1988, there were 350,000 cases of wild polio across 125 countries1 – with an estimated 1,000 children per day becoming paralyzed.

The world has come a long way in stopping polio since the launch of GPEI in 1988.

In 2023, there were a total of 12 confirmed cases2 of wild polio in two countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan. Efforts to eradicate polio over the last few decades have prevented more than 20 million cases of paralysis.

However, if wild poliovirus continues to spread in Pakistan and Afghanistan – and if variant poliovirus outbreaks continue – children worldwide remain at risk of paralysis.

Saving time, money, and resources

A woman in a white coat twists the lid of a vaccine vial on a porch, where a woman and two children are sitting and where there is a blue bag and a container labeled "vitamin."
A health worker in India provides children with multiple interventions – including polio vaccines and Vitamin A – at once. ©UNICEF/U.S.CDC/UN0735400/Khemka

Ending polio is cost effective.‎

Polio vaccines cost as little as 10 cents (in US currency) per dose.3

To end global polio, partners and national governments are working together to vaccinate more than 400 million children a year. As polio vaccines are inexpensive, this relatively small investment can save countless children from paralysis and death.

The global goal is to eradicate polio – stopping the virus entirely, as opposed to dealing with cases and outbreaks indefinitely. Analysis shows that eradication will save an estimated $33 billion in health-related costs by the year 2100.4

Furthermore, the same healthcare workers who administer polio vaccines have also delivered billions of doses of vitamin A since 1988. Vitamin A decreases the risk of disease and death among children without access to complete nutrition.

This combined campaign strategy provides multiple health benefits from a single campaign.

Protecting children everywhere

Polio anywhere puts children at risk everywhere.‎

The best way to keep people safe from polio is global vaccination.

Polio was once one of the most feared diseases in the United States.

Before polio vaccines became available in the 1950s, polio paralyzed more than 15,000 people each year in the United States. Thanks to widespread polio vaccination in the United States, wild polio has been eliminated – with no cases occurring in the country since 1979.

However, it takes only one traveler with polio to bring the disease into a country.

Communities with low polio vaccination rates are at risk of polio spreading from infected travelers, or having outbreaks from poliovirus variants that can emerge over time.

For instance, wild poliovirus had not been detected in southeastern Africa since the 1990s, and the continent of Africa was certified free of wild polio in 2020. However, in 2021 and 2022, wild poliovirus – imported from Pakistan –was reported circulating first in Malawi and later in Mozambique. The outbreak caused paralysis in nine children.

Ongoing challenge: poliovirus variants

Poliovirus variants, while rare, can also cause paralysis.‎

These variants (also known as vaccine-derived polioviruses) can emerge and spread in communities where too few people are vaccinated against polio.

How poliovirus variants emerge:

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The oral polio vaccine contains a weakened poliovirus. This weakened virus can spread from person to person. At first, that spread can provide immunity to community members who did not receive the vaccine. But if the spread happens for too long in communities with low rates of vaccination, it can become harmful. After months to years of spread in people who aren’t immune, the virus can mutate and regain its ability to cause paralysis. But variant poliovirus outbreaks can be prevented or stopped when every child is protected from polio with vaccines.
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Children receive oral poliovirus vaccines

These vaccines contain a weakened form of poliovirus.

The weakened virus spreads in the community

Contact with the weakened virus provides polio immunity to some children who did not receive the vaccine.

The weakened virus begins to mutate

The spread of the weakened virus is initially beneficial. However, if the spread happens for too long in communities with low polio vaccination rates, it can become harmful. Over time, the weakened virus begins to mutate as it spreads from person to person.

Eventually, paralysis-causing variants emerge

As spread continues over time, the virus may mutate into a variant that can cause paralysis in people who are not immune to polio.

See Also: Video – Vaccine-derived polioviruses

Partnering to end polio

GPEI has helped bring us to the brink of a polio-free world.‎

Backed by strong investments and political commitment, GPEI aims to end polio once and for all.

GPEI's Polio Eradication Strategy 2022-2026 has two goals:

  1. Permanently interrupt all wild poliovirus transmission
  2. Stop the transmission of poliovirus variants and prevent outbreaks

Once these goals are reached, GPEI is committed to ensuring a smooth transition to country health programs so the world remains polio-free.

Resources

GPEI Strategy‎

GPEI's strategy has two goals: 1) permanently stop the spread of wild poliovirus, and 2) stop outbreaks of variant poliovirus.
GPEI Strategy 2022-2026
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Content Source:
Global Health Center
  1. Bigouette JP, Wilkinson AL, Tallis G, Burns CC, Wassilak SG, Vertefeuille JF. Progress Toward Polio Eradication — Worldwide, January 2019–June 2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2021;70:1129–1135. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7034a1.
  2. Global Polio Eradication Initiative. List of wild poliovirus by year and country. Data from WHO as of February 6, 2024.
  3. UNICEF. Oral polio vaccine (OPV) price data. Data as of January 16, 2024.
  4. Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Investing in the Promise of a Polio-Free World. 2022.