Fears of polio resurgence as US vaccine adviser questions need for childhood shots

"We don't have a healthcare infrastructure to take care of a polio outbreak, said Grace Rossow, an operating-room communications coordinator in Illinois, who has long-term health issues following a case of polio as an infant. They don't know how to treat it. It is a massive problem if we have a resurgence of polio. There is no cure for polio; treatment for acute cases usually involves supportive care. Between a quarter and a half of patients develop post-polio syndrome, a lifelong condition."

"He spent six months living at Massachusetts general hospital on a floor devoted to children with polio. Sometimes the other children would transfer downstairs to iron lungs when they could no longer breathe on their own; sometimes they would die from their illness in the beds next to him. After months wondering whether he would be next, Caplan suddenly regained use of his legs for reasons no one has been able to fully explain."

Preventable infectious diseases are surging while top US vaccine advisers indicate all vaccine recommendations may be reconsidered. Experts anticipate additional polio cases and warn the healthcare system lacks infrastructure and clinical expertise to manage outbreaks. Polio has no cure; acute cases receive supportive care, and 25–50 percent of survivors develop lifelong post-polio syndrome. Vaccination success reduced clinician experience with polio, leaving few experts. Survivors recount severe paralysis, prolonged hospital stays, iron lung use, long rehabilitation, and later weakened mobility. Aging and retiring specialists have depleted polio-specific knowledge and training capacity.

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