A Public Health Achievement UNDER ADVERSITY: The Eradication of Poliomyelitis From Peru, 1991

The fight to achieve global eradication of poliomyelitis continues. Although native transmission of poliovirus was halted in the Western Hemisphere by the early 1990s, and only a few cases have been imported in the past few years, much of Latin America's story remains to be told. Peru conducted...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of public health (1971) 2014-12, Vol.104 (12), p.2298-2305
Main Authors: SOBTI, Deepak, CUETO, Marcos, YUAN HE
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Cerebrospinal fluid. Meninges. Spinal cord
Developing Countries
Disease
Disease control
General aspects
Health surveillance
History, 20th Century
Human viral diseases
Humans
Immunization Programs - history
Infectious diseases
LDCs
Medical sciences
Miscellaneous
Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes)
Neurology
Pan American Health Organization - history
Peru - epidemiology
Poliomyelitis
Poliomyelitis - epidemiology
Poliomyelitis - history
Poliomyelitis - prevention & control
Politics
Primary care
Public health
Public Health Practice - history
Public Health Surveillance
Public Health Then and Now
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Smallpox
Surveillance
Vaccines
Viral diseases
Viral diseases of the nervous system
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Summary:The fight to achieve global eradication of poliomyelitis continues. Although native transmission of poliovirus was halted in the Western Hemisphere by the early 1990s, and only a few cases have been imported in the past few years, much of Latin America's story remains to be told. Peru conducted a successful flexible, or flattened, vertical campaign in 1991. The initial disease-oriented programs began to collaborate with community-oriented primary health care systems, thus strengthening public-private partnerships and enabling the common goal of poliomyelitis eradication to prevail despite rampant terrorism, economic instability, and political turmoil. Committed leaders in Peru's Ministry of Health, the Pan American Health Organization, and Rotary International, as well as dedicated health workers who acted with missionary zeal, facilitated acquisition of adequate technologies, coordinated work at the local level, and increased community engagement, despite sometimes being unable to institutionalize public health improvements.
ISSN:0090-0036
1541-0048
DOI:10.2105/AJPH.2014.301995