Polio epidemiology and demographics
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: João André Alves Silva, M.D. [2]
Overview
Because of polio eradication efforts, the number of countries where travelers are at risk for polio has decreased dramatically. The last documented case of wild polio virus-associated paralysis in a US resident traveling abroad occurred in 1986 in a 29-year-old vaccinated adult who had been traveling in South and Southeast Asia. In 2005, an unvaccinated US adult traveling abroad acquired vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis after contact with an infant recently vaccinated with oral polio vaccine.
Prevalence
Incidence
In 2005, only 1,948 confirmed cases of polio were reported globally and polio was endemic in six countries.
Age
Gender
Race
Developed Countries
Poliomyelitis reached a peak in the United States in 1952, with more than 21,000 paralytic cases. However, following introduction of effective vaccines, polio incidence declined rapidly. A polio eradication program conducted by the Pan American Health Organization led to elimination of polio in the Western Hemisphere in 1991. The Global Polio Eradication Program has dramatically reduced poliovirus transmission throughout the world. The last case of wild-virus polio acquired in the United States was in 1979, and global polio eradication may be achieved within the next decade.[1]