News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – The world has the tools to eradicate polio, but it's unclear if countries have the political and social will to fully implement and finance emergency plans, a spokesman for the World Health Organization's (WHO's) Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) said yesterday to mark World Polio Day.

The observance is held on Oct 24, the birth date of Jonas Salk, the US virologist who invented the polio vaccine.

(CIDRAP News) – A review and mapping study to gauge the burden of zoonotic diseases found that Ethiopia, Nigeria, Tanzania, and India are four top hot spots and that a surging demand for livestock products will likely fuel the spread of several diseases.

(CIDRAP News) – Saying recent major gains in the fight against polio are at risk, global health groups yesterday announced an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) to try to eradicate the disease by driving it out of its last three strongholds: Nigeria, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

(CIDRAP News) – Reports of sporadic 2009 H1N1 infections and a few deaths in parts of India have sparked high-profile media coverage of the disease in the country, catching the attention of public health officials and vaccine makers, according to several media reports.

(CIDRAP News) – Polio cases in Africa were almost halved in 2011, but the disease shows worrisome trends in some countries, health officials reported today as the continent geared up to vaccinate 111 million children against the disease.