Prospects of polio eradication
Certainly, polio can be eradicated. Poliomyelitis is eradicable because man is the only host. A long term carrier state is not known to occur. The simultaneous administration of OPV (oral polio vaccine) within a short period of time by mass immunization campaigns (as by pulse polio programs) interrupts transmission of the wild polio virus by displacing it from the intestine, where they multiply.
Risk factors for getting an attack of polio
Several provocative or risk factors have been found to precipitate an attack of paralytic polio in individuals already infected with the polio viruses. They include fatigue, trauma, intra–muscular injections, operative procedures such as tonsillectomy undertaken especially during epidemics of polio and administration of immunizing agents, particularly alum–containing DPT. Immunity following infection is fairly solid although re–infection could occur.
Variations in the occurrence of polio
Polio is more likely to occur during the rainy season. Approximately 60% of cases recorded in India were during June to September.
