Glossary of polio eradication terms

acute flaccid paralysis (AFP)
Disabling condition occurring in 1 percent of all polio cases in which limbs affected by polio become limp and disfigured. AFP is also a symptom of other maladies; therefore, stool samples must be collected in a timely manner and sent to a laboratory to confirm or rule out polio as a cause. During surveillance, volunteers survey communities to discover if anyone is developing the condition to determine the success of polio vaccine penetration in those communities. See Surveillance and Global Laboratory Network.

certification
Global certification that polio has been eradicated is Rotary's number one goal. Through Surveillance efforts, health officials determine whether a region can be certified as being polio-free after at least three consecutive years of no transmission of poliovirus. Read more about the requirements for certification at the Global Polio Eradication Initiative website. See Surveillance.

club PolioPlus committees
Club presidents are encouraged by the RI Board and the Foundation Trustees to appoint a club PolioPlus committee. The objective of the club PolioPlus committee is to promote and support polio eradication activities at the club level. The focus of each club committee will vary because of the presence or absence of polio in the club area as well as the district’s and nation’s stage in the polio eradication process.

district PolioPlus subcommittee
The district PolioPlus subcommittee is responsible for supporting Rotary's commitment to polio eradication and is responsible for encouraging participation in PolioPlus activities by all Rotarians.  The focus of each district PolioPlus subcommittee will vary because of the presence or absence of polio in the district and the district and nation’s stage in the polio eradication process.

global laboratory network
The global polio laboratory network consists of 145 accredited laboratories which follow standardized procedures for detecting polioviruses from stool samples collected from AFP cases. The purpose of this laboratory testing is to distinguish polio as a cause of AFP from diseases other than poliovirus. See Acute Flaccid Paralysis and Surveillance

Global Polio Eradication Initiative
Group composed of Rotary International and its worldwide partners that support global immunization activities:  the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The global partnership was formed in 1988 when the 169 member states of the World Health Organization adopted a resolution to eradicate polio globally. Rotary’s role in the initiative is the PolioPlus program and related activities. See PolioPlus

importation
Polio is an infectious disease and knows no borders. Because carriers of travel across international borders, the virus has been known to spread from polio-endemic countries into previously polio-free countries through importation. See Polio and Polio-endemic

International PolioPlus Committee
Among other things, the International PolioPlus Committee recommends policies, strategies, budgets, grant requests to the trustees and reports on polio eradication grant progress;  reviews the overall operations of the PolioPlus program and provide recommendations to the trustees on any matter associated with its goal; and provides direction and coordination to all elements of the PolioPlus program. Refer to the Official Directory for current members.

monovalent oral polio vaccine
Recently developed version of the oral polio vaccine which has a higher rate of efficacy due to the fact that it focuses on only one of the three types of polio virus (type 1 or type 3). The monovalent oral polio vaccine is used strategically to respond to outbreaks of a single type of polio, or in immunization campaigns where only one type of polio is known to circulate.

‘Mop-up’ campaigns
“Mop-up” campaigns are implemented in a country when the final pockets of poliovirus transmission have been identified with certification-standard Surveillance. The campaigns involve door-to-door immunization in high-risk districts where the virus is known or suspected to still be circulating.

National Immunization Day (NID)
National Immunization Days complement and supplement routine immunization activities. They are massive, coordinated campaigns that aim to interrupt the circulation of poliovirus by immunizing every child in the highest risk age group (normally under the age of five) by administering the oral vaccine. Polio-endemic countries usually organize multiple rounds of NIDs annually for a period of at least three years to reach every child, regardless of previous immunization status, in the most susceptible age group is protected against polio at the same time. See Polio-endemic and  Mop-ups.

national advocacy advisers
National advocacy advisers are appointed in potential donor countries to support the work of the Polio Eradication Advocacy Task Force to mobilize additional governmental financial and political for global eradication activities and coordinate with the other major polio eradication partners to ensure that the messages to donor governments and polio-affected governments are accurate and consistent. See the Official Directory for current members.

national PolioPlus committees
National PolioPlus committees assist The Rotary Foundation in achieving its objectives in polio eradication in the committee’s country.
See the Official Directory for current members.

oral polio vaccine (OPV)
Vaccine developed by Dr. Albert Sabin that is administered orally and protects against all three types of poliovirus. The oral polio vaccine is the vaccine of choice for polio eradication because it is relatively inexpensive and can be administered easily by trained volunteers. In addition, those who have been immunized with this vaccine shed the vaccine-virus for a short period of time thereby creating a “herd immunity” within the local population.

polio 
Shortened name for poliomyelitis, the crippling disease caused by the poliovirus. See acute flaccid paralysis, poliovirus, and polio-endemic.

polio-endemic
Refers to a region or country with naturally circulating polio virus that and where polio transmission has never been interrupted. There are four polio-endemic countries: Nigeria, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

poliomyelitis
See Polio.

PolioPlus advocacy
A small but dedicated group of Rotary members including the Polio Eradication Advocacy Task Force, national advocacy advisers, and national PolioPlus committee members, who work with national governments and multinational organizations to encourage them to commit the political and financial support required to eradicate polio. See PolioPlus committees.

PolioPlus committees
Numerous committees exist at all levels of Rotary in order to promote Rotary’s highest priority, global polio eradication.  See Club PolioPlus Committee; National PolioPlus Committee; Regional PolioPlus Committee; and International PolioPlus Committee

Polio Eradication Advocacy Task Force
Members of the Polio Eradication Advocacy Task Force mobilize additional governmental financial and political resources for global eradication activities and coordinate with the other major polio eradication partners to ensure that the messages to donor governments and polio-affected governments are accurate and consistent. See the Official Directory for current members.

regional PolioPlus committees
Regional PolioPlus committees represent Rotary on regional immunization and eradication coordinating committees, coordinate assigned aspects of national PolioPlus committees, recommend priorities for PolioPlus grants in the region, or serve as a multinational PolioPlus committee whenever separate national committees are not feasible. See the Official Directory for current members.

PolioPlus
Through this Rotary Foundation program established in 1985, Rotary has led the private sector in the global effort to eradicate polio. In addition to volunteering in communities around the world to eradicate polio, Rotarians will have contributed nearly US$650 million dollars by the time the world is certified polio-free. The "plus" in PolioPlus refers, among other things, to the global polio eradication legacy that can be applied to future health initiatives. See Global Polio Eradication Initiative

poliovirus
The virus that causes poliomyelitis, which is passed through poor or careless hygiene. Learn more about the disease. Also referred to as the wild poliovirus. See polio.

surveillance
The critical monitoring of the incidence and transmission of polio at local, national, regional, and global levels that involves rapid collection and assessment of stool samples from children suspected to have polio by local health workers and pediatricians. See certification and acute flaccid paralysis.