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Poliomyelitis is a potentially disabling, life-threatening and outbreak-prone disease caused by infection by 1 of 3 different serotypes of poliovirus (type-1, type-2, or type-3). Polioviruses can replicate in the pharyngeal and intestinal mucosa and are excreted in the feces and, to a lesser extent, in pharyngeal secretions. They can be transmitted through the fecal-oral route or to close contacts by the oral-oral route through respiratory droplets. Most infections are asymptomatic or self-limiting. In rare instances, the virus can infect the spinal cord, leading to limb paralysis or, in the most severe cases, respiratory paralysis and death. There is no cure for paralytic poliomyelitis, and treatment consists of physiotherapy for affected limbs or mechanical ventilation when breathing is affected. 1

In the early 1950s, wild poliovirus (WPV) had become the most feared disease in the world, killing or paralyzing over half a million people …