Every 24th October, World Polio Day highlights global efforts to eliminate polio and the importance of vaccination in protecting children from the disease. It is also an opportunity to highlight the importance of all mothers, fathers, caregivers, health workers and volunteers who play a key role in getting polio vaccines to children and their communities.
30 years ago, in August 1994, the Region of the Americas was certified free of savage polio. Since then, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has invited countries to maintain high vaccination coverage and strengthen surveillance to keep communities safe from the risk of a possible event or outbreak.
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To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the elimination of wild poliovirus in the Region and the importance of this milestone to show how beneficial and necessary vaccines are and the importance of strengthening of immunization programs in the countries.
To 30 more years free of wild polio in the Americas.
To 30 more years of commitment and dedication.
Photo gallery
Credits: Poliovirus model, 1995. © WHO/EPI.
In 1908, the poliovirus was discovered in Vienna by Karl Landsteiner and Erwin Popper. This virus attacks the nervous system, causing paralysis and, in many cases, death to thousands of people worldwide.
Credits: Iron lungs keep polio patients breathing in Los Angeles (USA) in 1952 © WHO/MARCH OF DIMES, BIRTH DEFECTS FOUNDATION
The image of iron lungs, large metal cylinders that helped paralyzed patients breathe, became a symbol of the fight against this disease.
Credits: AMRO 1989 @WHO/ Rotary International/ P. Carlin
Nearly 60,000 children in the United States were reported to have had polio in 1952 alone, with more than 20,000 cases of paralysis.
Credits: President Franklin D. Roosevelt in family, 1989 @WHO/US Foundation for Infantile Paralysis.
A universal disease. Public figures, such as U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, were victims of polio. His personal experience made him a strong advocate for the fight against polio.
Credits: Woman in AMRO laboratory 1989 © WHO/ PAHO/ C.GAGGERO
Research and surveillance are the solution. Highly specialized laboratories were required to identify the polio virus. Today, laboratories are an essential pillar in maintaining vigilance.
Credits: Dr. Albert Sabin USA- 1989 @WHO/US Foundation for Infantile Paralysis.
True heroes. Polish-born, Washington, D.C.-based Dr. Albert Sabin developed an oral vaccine that would revolutionize the fight against polio in the 1950s.
Credits: World Health Day, 1989 © WHO @ Photo by L. Taylor
A global solution. The polio vaccine became a symbol of hope. Posters like this one spread around the world, promoting vaccination to achieve the eradication of the disease.
Credits: Vaccination campaign in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, 1993 © WHO/Ministry of Health of Mexico.
It was necessary to reach every corner, and today we must continue to strengthen Immunization Programs to ensure no one is left unvaccinated.
Credits: Luis Fermín Tenorio Cortez, the last case of polio in the Americas, in 1994 © WHO.
A future without polio. In 1994, Luis Fermín Tenorio Cortez became the last case of wild polio in the Americas. His story is a reminder of how far we have come and the importance of maintaining vigilance and high vaccination coverage.
Credits: Luís Fermín Tenorio, March 1994 © WHO/ PAHO/ Armando WAAK
Emblematic photo of Luis Fermín Tenorio Cortez, the last case of polio in the Americas, taken in the town of Pichanaki, Peru, in 1994, on his way to the local hospital with Dr. Roger Zapata (right) and his grandmother.
A story of the past, a threat of the present...
I got the disease when I was one year old, and I had sequels from that time... until I was eight years old I had to wear a harness, a kind of leather and metal brace that allowed me to support my leg so I could walk..."
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