Vaccine-derived polio in Meghalaya

Source: The post vaccine-derived polio in Meghalaya has been created, based on the article “How polio vaccine triggered the infection in a child in Meghalaya” published in “Indian Express” on 27th August 2024

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 2- Governance-Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health.

Context: The article discusses a case of vaccine-derived polio in Meghalaya. It explains that while the oral polio vaccine (OPV) can occasionally cause polio, it doesn’t threaten India’s polio-free status. It also highlights the use of both OPV and IPV in India.

For detailed information on Vaccine-derived poliovirus read this article here

What is Vaccine-Derived Polio?

Vaccine-derived polio occurs when the weakened virus in OPV regains the ability to cause infection. This can happen in two ways:

1. In some cases, the weakened virus can continue circulating from child to child, gaining back its ability to transmit quickly, and then cause severe infection every time it spreads.
2. The virus in the vaccine can also cause chronic infection in children with weakened immune systems, replicating in their gut for years and slowly gaining its ability to cause severe infection. This is what seems to have happened in the Meghalaya case.

Have Vaccine-Derived Polio Cases Occurred in India Before?

1. India was declared polio-free in 2014 after the last wild poliovirus case was detected in 2011 in West Bengal’s Howrah district.
2. Despite this, vaccine-derived polio cases have been reported in the country.
3. In 2013, an 11-month-old child from Maharashtra’s Beed district died due to vaccine-derived polio.
4. Multiple other cases have surfaced across India, with the most recent before the Meghalaya case reported in Kerala.
5. These vaccine-derived cases do not affect India’s polio-free status, as only wild poliovirus detection would change that.

How Can Vaccine-Derived Polio Be Prevented?

1. Use of IPV: Switching to the injectable polio vaccine (IPV) can prevent vaccine-derived polio, as it contains no live virus. This eliminates the risk of the virus regaining strength and causing infection.
2. IPV Limitations: IPV requires trained personnel to administer, which may reduce immunization rates. It also doesn’t prevent virus transmission between individuals.
3. Current Practice in India: India uses both IPV and OPV. However, IPV is underused, with only one shot given instead of the three shots and one booster used in countries like the US and Canada.

Question for practice:

Discuss the factors that contribute to the occurrence of vaccine-derived polio in India.