Not so very long ago, the end of 2023 was the target date by which wild polio strains would have been eradicated and the vaccine-derived variants been brought under control. It is now clear that these goals will not be accomplished this year or any time soon. Like meaningful climate saving measures and action against antibiotic resistance, the planned second-ever eradication of a human disease remains a movable feast.
I've taken the approaching target date as an opportunity to have a closer look at what went wrong, what still needs to be done, and how we can overcome diseases more generally. The resulting feature is out now:
Can we wipe out diseases?
Current Biology Volume 33, Issue 22, 20. November 2023, Pages R1163-R1165
Restricted access to full text and PDF download
(will become open access one year after publication)
Magic link for free access
(first seven weeks only)
See also my Mastodon thread where I will highlight all this year's CB features.
The new generation of polio vaccines features stabilising manipulations to the RNA, designed to stop the attenuated virus from mutating back to the more virulent form. (image: National Institutes of Health.)
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