Una batalla ganada: la eliminación de la poliomielitis en Cuba / A battle won: the elimination of poliomyelitis in Cuba

La poliomielitis fue introducida en Cuba a finales del siglo XIX por norteamericanos residentes en Isla de Pinos. Las primeras epidemias ocurrieron en 1906 y 1909, aumentaron en intensidad entre 1930-1958. El objetivo del artículo es reconstruir la historia de la enfermedad y sus epidemias en Cuba hasta 1961, de la primera Campaña Nacional de Vacunación Antipolio (1962) y de sus resultados, bien como analizar la continuidad de las campañas anuales de vacunación hasta la certificación de su eliminación (1994). Se siguió el método histórico lógico; se revisaron documentos de archivos, las estadísticas del Ministerio de Salud Pública sobre morbilidad y mortalidad hasta el 2000. Se calcularon tasas brutas de morbilidad y mortalidad. Se realizaron entrevistas a personajes claves.

Poliomyelitis was introduced in Cuba in the late nineteenth century by American residents in Isla de Pinos. The first epidemics occurred in 1906 and 1909 and increased in intensity between 1930 and 1958. The scope of the paper is to reconstruct the history of the disease and its epidemics in Cuba prior to 1961, the first National Polio Vaccination Campaign (1962) and its results, as well as analyze the ongoing annual vaccination campaigns through to certified elimination of the disease (1994). The logical historical method was used and archival documents and statistics from the Ministry of Health on morbidity and mortality through 2000 were reviewed. Gross morbidity and mortality rates were calculated and interviews with key figures were conducted.

Commentory on “LIVE, ORALLY GIVEN POLIOVIRUS VACCINE - EFFECTS OF RAPID MASS IMMUNIZATION IN POPULATION UNDER CONDITIONS OF MASSIVE ENTERIC INFECTION WITH OTHER VIRUSES.

The following is a commentary on the article “Sabin AB, Ramos-Alvarez M, Alvarez-Amezquita J, Pelon W, Michaels RH, Spigland I, et al. Live, orally given poliovirus vaccine: effects of rapid mass immunization on population under conditions of massive enteric infection with other viruses. Jama. 1960;173(14):1521-6.” Abstract (of the original article): The phenomenon of viral interference must be taken into account in planning the use of live poliovirus vaccine in areas where conditions favor the extensive dissemination of naturally occurring polioviruses. Experience with feeding a trivalent vaccine to 26,033 children in a tropical city of 100, 000 population led to the conclusion that interference was overcome by mass feeding of vaccine to 86% of all children under 11 years within a period of about four days, and that, because dissemination of the poliovirus was self-limited, a second feeding of trivalent vaccine was necessary to achieve immunization of almost all children. Recom-mendations are here formulated for the eradication of poliomyelitis, but they apply only to subtropical and tropical regions with extensive dissemination of various enteric viruses and not to temperate zones with good sanitation and hygiene during certain periods of the year and under conditions of low or absent dis-semination of enteric viruses.

Memória da poliomielite: acervo de depoimentos orais / Memory of the poliomyelitis: collection of oral statements

Analisa a poliomielite no Brasil em uma perspectiva de história das doenças. Essa perspectiva possibilita o entendimento da doença como fenômeno social, cujo significado é construído de forma particular por cada cultura e nos leva a uma reflexão sobre os tipos de resposta dados pela sociedade à doença, quer em nível médico-científico, quer pelo poder público ou por grupos sociais, bem como pelos indivíduos.

Erradicaçäo da poliomielite no Brasil: a contribuiçäo da Fundaçäo Oswaldo Cruz / Eradication of poliomyelitis in Brazil: the contribution of Fundaçäo Oswaldo Cruz

A erradicaçäo dos vírus selvagens da poliomielite nas Américas constituiu um marco notável da saúde pública no continente americano. A Fundaçäo Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz) contribuiu de forma decisiva para este resultado de várias formas, como o apoio laboratorial do Centro Nacional de Enteroviroses, do Departamento de Virologia do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, a formulaçäo e o fornecimento da vacina oral por Bio-Manguinhos, o apoio laboratorial e epidemiológico da Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública e o controle das vacinas pelo Instituto Nacional de Controle da Qualidade em Saúde. A Fiocruz também desenvolveu importantes projetos de pesquisa em enterovírus. Sendo a poliomielite ainda um problema para vários países do mundo, é oportuno relatar a importância do trabalho realizado pela Fiocruz para a erradicaçäo da doença no Brasil e nas Américas.