Prevention of Polio

In the United States, it's currently recommended that children have four doses of inactivated polio vaccination (IPV) between the ages of 2 months and 6 years.

By 1964, the oral polio vaccine (OPV), developed by Albert Sabin, had become the recommended vaccine. OPV allowed large populations to be immunized because it was easy to administer, and it provided "contact" immunization, which means that an un immunized person who came in contact with a recently immunized child might become immune, too. The problem with OPV was that, in very rare cases, paralytic polio could develop either in immunized children or in those who came in contact with them.

Since 1979 (when wild polio was eliminated in the United States), the approximately 10 cases per year of polio seen in this country were traced to OPV.

IPV is a vaccine that stimulates the immune system of the body (through production of antibodies) to fight the virus if it comes in contact with it. IPV cannot cause polio.

In an effort to eradicate all polio, including those cases associated with the vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) decided to make IPV the only vaccine given in the United States. Currently, the CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommend three spaced doses of IPV given before the age of 18 months, and an IPV booster given between the ages of 4 to 6, when children are entering school.

If you're planning to travel outside the United States, particularly to Africa and Asia (where polio still exists), be sure that you and your child have received a complete set of polio vaccinations.

By Steven Dowshen, MD

The above information thankfully comes from the Steven Dowshen, MD at the following link.