—RI News
The final push to end polio is the largest and most complex disease eradication effort in history.
An editorial in the Washington Post drew attention to one of the major challenges during this final push: outbreaks in polio-free countries. The outbreak currently happening in Somalia and Kenya, with 105 cases so far, is a sobering reminder of the tenacity of the virus, and that so long as polio exists anywhere, its spread is an ever-present risk.
The best way to stop such outbreaks is by interrupting polio transmission in the remaining endemic countries.
The good news is that we’re better than ever at responding to outbreaks. Since 2011, only one has lasted longer than six months. In 2008, it took an average of 20 weeks to put a stop to a new outbreak; by 2011, that was whittled down to 12 weeks.