Progress toward global eradication of poliomyelitis, 1995

In 1988, the World Health Assembly established a target to eradicate poliomyelitis worldwide by the year 2000. To achieve this goal, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends four strategies: 1) achievement and maintenance of high routine vaccination coverage levels among children with at least three doses of oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV); 2) development of sensitive systems of epidemiologic and laboratory surveillance, including the use of the standard WHO case definition; 3) administration of supplementary doses of OPV to all young children (usually those aged < 5 years) during National Immunization Days (NIDs) to rapidly interrupt poliovirus transmission; and 4) "mopping-up" vaccination campaigns--localized campaigns targeted at high-risk areas where poliovirus transmission is most likely to persist at low levels. This report updates progress toward global polio eradication based on information submitted to WHO as of April 15, 1996.