The Challenges of Poliovirus Eradication

Following the successful efforts to wipe out the virus of Smallpox (Variola virus) that started in the 1950s and officially realized their goal in 19803, the World Health Organization (WHO) made a commitment in 1988 to eradicate Poliovirus and poliomyelitis and achieve a Polio-free world by 2000. This ambitious project proved to be much more challenging than initially anticipated. While many of its objectives have been met (including the effective eradication of one of Poliovirus antigenic types from human populations) and the virus has been eliminated from the vast majority of countries around the globe, there is still work to do to complete this mission. The remaining challenges are intimately associated to the very nature of the actors involved in this enduring game: the Poliovirus itself, the vaccines at hand, and the human factor. These are briefly reviewed here.