- What is Polio
- How is Polio Contracted
- Polio Symptoms
- Where in the World is Polio
- When is the Polio Vaccine Given
- Efficacy of the Polio Vaccine
- How Long Does Polio Vaccine Protection Last
- Ingredients in the Polio Vaccine
- FDA Package Inserts
- Controversy and the Polio Vaccine
- Polio Vaccine Reactions
- The Bottom Line and the Polio Vaccine
- Who Should Not Get the Polio Vaccine
- References
- Resources
- Studies/ Reviews
Courtesy of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
What is Polio?
Polio is a contagious disease caused by an intestinal virus that may attack the nerve cells of the brain and spinal cord, causing muscle weakness and paralysis. If the virus attacks the part of the spinal cord that controls respiration, death can occur. Most cases are transmitted like the common cold or an intestinal flu. Most people who acquire it don’t show any symptoms. Some have a minor sore throat and fever, but they don’t know they have the polio virus, and these cases pass without any treatment. [1,2,3] Back to Top
How is Polio Contracted?
There are two types of polio
- Wild Polio (WPV): can spread through contact with contaminated feces (baby exploring world through hands and mouth, changing an infected baby’s diapers) or through airborne droplets in food, or in water. The virus enters the body through nose or mouth, then travels to the intestines where it incubates. It then enters the bloodstream where “anti-polio” antibodies are produced. In most cases, this stops progression of the virus and the individual gains permanent immunity against the disease. [4] Muscular paralysis has been estimated to occur in 1 of every 1,000 people who contract the disease. [5]
- Vaccine-derived Polio Virus (VDPV): contracted same way that wild polio is contracted, only the source of the virus comes from the oral polio vaccine (OPV)… Yes, we are vaccinating against polio and causing polio outbreaks.
Polio Symptoms
Mild
- Approximately 72% of persons infected with polio will have no symptoms (lifetime immunity thereafter).
Moderate
- About 24% of infected persons have minor symptoms, such as fever, fatigue, nausea, headache, flu-like symptoms, stiffness in the neck and back, and pain in the limbs, which often resolve completely (lifetime immunity thereafter).
Severe
- Fewer than 1% of polio cases result in permanent paralysis of the limbs (usually the legs). Of those paralyzed, 5-10% die when the paralysis strikes the respiratory muscles. The death rate increases with increasing age.
Where in the World is Polio?
If you have not vaccinated your child(ren) against polio and plan to travel out of the United States, or if you are curious about polio outbreaks today, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative has a website with weekly statistics of polio outbreaks, both wild polio and vaccine-derived polio cases.
When is the Polio Vaccine Given?
- The polio vaccine is given at two months, four months, 18 months, and 5 years.
- For more information, please see Vaccine Schedules
Efficacy of the Polio Vaccine
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/polio.html
How Long Does Polio Vaccine Protection Last?
- Duration of immunity is not known with certainty. [9]
Ingredients in the Polio Vaccine
The final polio vaccine contains [2]:
- Three inactivated virus strains
- M-199 culture medium added at the end of the process to dilute the virus
- 2-phenoxyethanol— about 0.5 percent
- Formaldehyde— 100 micrograms
- Residual amounts of three antibiotics
- Traces of the calf serum, left over in the vaccine solution— 1 part per million
Controversial Ingredients in the Polio Vaccine
- Baby cow blood serum
- Human albumin (blood proteins)
- Glutamate (a component of MSG)
- Formaldehyde and 2-phenoxyethanol
- Monkey kidney cells
If you would like specific information regarding each ingredient, including studies:
Polio Vaccine FDA Package Inserts
- Poliovirus Vaccine Inactivated (IPOL) (Monkey Kidney Cell) (Sanofi Pasteur) IPOL FDA Package Insert
- (*)Pentacel (Sanofi Pasteur). This is a DTaP, HIB, and polio combo. Pentacel FDA Package Insert
- (*)Pediarix (GlaxoSmithKline). This combines DTaP, hep B, and polio. Pediarix FDA Package Insert
- (*)Kinrix (GlaxoSmithKline). This is a DTaP/ polio combo. Kinrix FDA Package Insert
*Studies have shown a diminished antibody response to B. pertussis antigens when poliovirus vaccine was administered with DTP. The data are also similar to the findings of a number of earlier studies that consistently demonstrated a trend toward lower values of agglutinins to B. pertussis when IPV was combined with DTP. [7]
Controversy and the Polio Vaccine
- The Bumpy Road to Polio Eradication – New England Journal of Medicine:
But perhaps the biggest bump in the road has been the emergence of circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPVs), genetically unstable Sabin-strain viruses that revert toward the genotypic and phenotypic profile of the virulent parent strain as they circulate for extended periods in a population with low immunity levels.
In 1960, it was discovered that Simian Virus 40 (SV40) contaminated up to 30% of the poliovirus vaccines in the US. This contamination arose because the vaccines were produced in monkey kidney cell cultures harboring SV40 between 1955 and 1963. During this period, approximately 90% of children and 60% of adults in the USA were inoculated for polio and possibly exposed to SV40. Many epidemiologic and molecular pathogenesis studies have been conducted in order to identify potential cancer risks since this ‘natural’ experiment began. Productive SV40 infection has the potential to initiate malignancy in a variety of target tissues.
- The CDC states that polio has been basically eradicated from the United States, however many experts feel that the disease name, polio, has just been replaced by the name, “meningitis:”
Polio Vaccine Reactions
Signs to look for include:
- Local reactions are uncommon, with only about 10 percent of kids showing redness or swelling. Systemic reactions are less common than most other vaccines.
- All adverse reactions should also be reported to the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS).
Known Severe Reactions:
- Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV): Vaccine Associated Paralytic Polio (VAPP) –
- What the WHO says about VAPP
- What the CDC says about VAPP
Postmarketing Surveillance:
(common reactions noted after the release of the vaccine) [10]
- Blood and lymphatic system disorders: lymphadenopathy
- General disorders and administration site conditions: agitation, injection site reaction including injection site rash and mass
- Immune system disorders: type I hypersensitivity including allergic reaction, anaphylactic reaction, and anaphylactic shock
- Musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders: arthralgia, myalgia
- Nervous system disorders: convulsion, febrile convulsion, headache, paresthesia, and somnolence
- Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders: rash, urticaria
The Bottom Line and the Polio Vaccine
- Studies have shown a diminished antibody response to B. pertussis antigens when poliovirus vaccine was administered with DTP. The data are also similar to the findings of a number of earlier studies that consistently demonstrated a trend toward lower values of agglutinins to B. pertussis when IPV was combined with DTP. [7]
The CDC recommends that anyone who meets the following criteria should either not get IPV or should wait:
- Anyone who has ever had a life-threatening allergic reaction to neomycin, streptomycin, or polymyxin B.
- Anyone who has had a severe allergic reaction to a previous polio vaccine dose.
- Anyone who is moderately or severely ill when the shot is scheduled should wait until they have recovered.
The CDC recommends that anyone who meets the following criteria should not get the OPV. Now that this vaccine is used in only very limited situations, these recommendations apply to a small number of people.
- Anyone who is taking long-term steroids or any other drug that affects the immune system.
- Anyone who has AIDS, HIV infection, or any other immune system disease.
- Anyone who has cancer or is getting chemotherapy.
- Anyone in the previous three groups who changes an infant’s diapers or who has close contact with a child who is getting polio vaccine, that child should not get OPV.
- Anyone who has had a severe allergic reaction to a previous dose of OPV.
- Infants should not get OPV if anyone who will be in close contact with them has never had any polio vaccine.
- Anyone who is moderately or severely ill at the time the dose is scheduled should wait until they have recovered to receive the dose.
References
Cave, Stephanie; Mitchell, Deborah (2007-11-01). What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About(TM) Children’s Vaccinations (What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About…). Grand Central Publishing. Kindle Edition.
Sears, Robert W. (2011-10-26). The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child (Sears Parenting Library). Little, Brown and Company. Kindle Edition.
Eisenstein, Mayer, MD, JD, MPH. Make an Informed Vaccine Decision For the Health of Your Child: A Parent’s Guide to Childhood Shots. New Atlantean Press, 2010.
Sanofi Pasteur. “IPOL (Poliovirus Vaccine Inactivated).” Product insert from the vaccine manufacturer. December 2005.
Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases, 12th Edition (The Pink Book) (web version)
Global Polio Eradication Initiative
Resources
- CDC Polio Vaccine Info
- World Health Organization (WHO) – Polio
- Immunization Action Coalition – Polio Vaccine Information Statement
- http://doctormarysmonkey.com/index.htm
- Vaccine Book List (with approximately 100 resource books)
- www.askdrsears.com
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- Center for Disease Control (CDC)
- www.drtenpenny.com
- Vaccination Information Network
- www.vactruth.com
Studies/ Reviews
- Polio eradication: where are we now?
- The Potential Impact of Routine Immunization with Inactivated Poliovirus Vaccine on Wild-type or Vaccine-derived Poliovirus Outbreaks in a Posteradication Setting
- Poliomyelitis: threats to eradication
- Oral and inactivated poliovirus vaccines in the newborn: A review
- Hypersensitivity reactions to the Sabin vaccine in children with cow’s milk allergy
- Systematic Review of Mucosal Immunity Induced by Oral and Inactivated Poliovirus Vaccines against Virus Shedding following Oral Poliovirus Challenge
- Risk of Febrile Seizures and Epilepsy After Vaccination With Diphtheria, Tetanus, Acellular Pertussis, Inactivated Poliovirus, and Haemophilus Influenzae Type b
- Safety and Immunogenicity of 2 Mixed Primary Infant Immunization Schedules of Pentavalent Diphtheria, Tetanus, Acellular Pertussis, Inactivated Poliomyelitis, and Haemophilus influenzae Type b Vaccines at 2, 4, and 6 Months of Age: A Randomized Controlled Trial
- Association of autism with polyomavirus infection in postmortem brains
- Th2-Associated Local Reactions to the Acellular Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis Vaccine in 4- to 6-Year-Old Children
- Polio vaccines, Simian Virus 40, and human cancer: the epidemiologic evidence for a causal association.
- Effect of Inactivated Poliovirus Vaccine on the Antibody Response to Bordetella pertussis Antigens When Combined with Diphtheria-Pertussis-Tetanus Vaccine
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Reviewed/Updated: 07/19
Content Created: 06/14
