Is there a cure for polio?

No, there is no cure for polio. Polio can only be prevented by immunisation. The oral polio vaccine (OPV) is a safe and effective protection. Given multiple times, it protects a child for life. As for fear of side-effects, OPV is one of the safest vaccines ever developed. It is so safe that it can be given to sick children and newborns. It is believed to have saved millions of children around the world from paralysis.

Is injectable vaccine an option?

OPV helps in mass immunisation in densely populated and unhygienic conditions. Using OPV, all the countries in the world except India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria have eradicated polio.

But all polio-free countries over a period of time have switched over to IPV (injectable polio vaccine). Unlike OPV, IPV gives individual protection to a child against all polio viruses. Two years back the India Experts Advisory Group suggested that the Government explore the possibility of using IPV in high-risk districts of western UP to supplement OPV. But in a country like India where wild virus is still in circulation, OPV is the best means to provide mass immunity.

How many doses of OPV does a child need?

OPV needs to be administered multiple times to be effective. The number of doses it takes to immunise a child depends entirely on his/her health and nutritional status, and how many other viruses the child has been exposed to. Children living in areas that are densely populated and with poor hygiene need higher doses of OPV.

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