What is Poliomyelitis?

Poliomyelitis is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus that attacks the nerve system and can result in permanent, life-long paralysis. In severe situations, the disease can lead to respiratory failure, which can be fatal. There is no cure for the disease, and it can only be prevented with oral or injectable vaccines.

What are the available vaccines and their possible problems?

There are two vaccines available: the weakened live oral virus (OPV) and the killed or inactivated virus (IPV). The OPV is given orally. The benefits of OPV include intestinal immunity and secondary spread of the vaccine to other children. However, OPV has been implicated in vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis VAPP when the weakened virus in the vaccine causes the paralysis especially in those with reduced host defenses and caused vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV).

Which Polio Vaccine should be used?

Malaysia is using IPV for the national polio immunisation programme, and IPV is given as an injection into the muscle in combination with other vaccines, such as DTaP-IPV/Hib (which contains a polio antigen component), to children at the ages of 2, 3, 5, and 18 months. The National Immunisation Programme schedule called for converting the five-component vaccine to a six-component vaccine (DTaP-IPV/HepB/Hib) in 2020. Most children who receive the IPV polio vaccine do not experience side effects. Side effects that occur are mild, such as redness and pain at the injection site.

Source:

1. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/surv-manual/chpt12-polio.html
2. https://hq.moh.gov.my/bpkk/images/3.Penerbitan/2.Orang_Awam/8.Kesihatan_Kanak_Kanak/2.PDF/21_Penyakit_Cegahan_Vaksin_dan_Imunisasi.pdf