Data Analytics and Assessment Skills, Health Equity Skills, Community Partnership Skills, Public Health Sciences Skills, Leadership and Systems Thinking Skills Brian Tolleson Data Analytics and Assessment Skills, Health Equity Skills, Community Partnership Skills, Public Health Sciences Skills, Leadership and Systems Thinking Skills Brian Tolleson

PART 5.2

The polio eradication program relied on strong surveillance efforts to inform vaccination efforts. Surveillance teams worldwide constantly searched for cases in which people had limbs that could not be moved and just hung limply, or cases of “flaccid paralysis.”When they found these cases, they would target vaccination to those regions. This was a very effective strategy when polio was widespread, because almost every case of flaccid paralysis was caused by polio. As vaccination coverage increased, cases of paralytic polio plummeted. As cases of flaccid paralysis began to disappear, polio was declared eliminated from many countries and regions. But in many areas polio persisted.

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