Vaccine Associated Paralytic Poliomyelitis

Vaccine Associated Paralytic Poliomyelitis (VAPP), although a known hazard with Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV), has not received adequate attention in India despite increasing use of OPV in repeated rounds of national immunization days. An analysis by National Polio Surveillance Project in 1999 suggested that incidence of VAPP is lower in India compared to that in the developed countries. However a re-analysis of the NPSP data suggests that the incidence in india is likely to be 1 in 1.5–2.0 million doses, which is higher than that reported elsewhere. Since 1999, the number of AFP cases in which the vaccine virus has been isolated, has progressively gone down, despite increasing number of OPV doses being administered in the national program. This contradictory phenomenon is difficult to explain unless either the doses being actually given are much less than those recorded or the vaccine being given is not potent. It is essential that the problem of VAPP is looked at in depth, and if it reveals that it is a significant problem then it would be imperative to gradually replace OPV by IPV in the national program. This article suggests a plan for gradual introduction of IPV in the national program, which will not only eliminate the problem of VAPP but also address other post polio eradication concerns.