{"id":13459,"date":"2011-09-15T10:48:38","date_gmt":"2011-09-15T16:48:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.sustainablog.org\/?p=13459"},"modified":"2011-09-15T10:48:38","modified_gmt":"2011-09-15T16:48:38","slug":"smallpox-polio-failing-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/smallpox-polio-failing-states\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Stories of Disease: Smallpox & Polio"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"a<\/a>
A young boy receives a polio vaccination<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Smallpox plagued humanity for thousands of years. In the 18th century, smallpox killed one out of every ten children in France and Sweden. Over the 20th century, the virus caused between 300 and 500 million deaths worldwide. No effective treatment was ever developed.<\/p>\n

The eradication of this devastating disease is one of public health\u2019s greatest achievements. It involved mass vaccinations and surveillance to track and contain outbreaks. In 1977, ten years after the World Health Organization (WHO) began an intensive eradication program, the last naturally occurring case of smallpox was identified in Somalia. And on May 8, 1980, the World Health Assembly declared smallpox eradicated.<\/p>\n

\"Graph<\/p>\n

In 1988, when the WHO, Rotary International, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, and UNICEF launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, it was hoped that vaccination and surveillance could also put an end to polio. Between 1988 and 2001, the number of cases of polio in the world fell from more than 300,000 to a low of 483, and success looked near.<\/p>\n

\"Graph<\/p>\n

Since then, however, despite increasing expenditures and medical advancements, such as more effective vaccines, the number of recognized cases worldwide typically has exceeded 1,000.<\/p>\n

\"Graph<\/p>\n

Once endemic to 125 countries, today polio transmission continues uninterrupted in only 4 countries: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan; all but India are considered among the world\u2019s top failing states<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Failing states, those that lose control of part or all of their territory and can no longer ensure their people\u2019s security, can pose a threat to international health. They may lack a health care system that is sophisticated enough to participate in the international network that controls the spread of infectious diseases, as illustrated by recent missed opportunities to eradicate polio.<\/p>\n

In 2003, mullahs in northern Nigeria began to oppose the polio vaccination program there, claiming that it was a plot to spread AIDS and sterility. As a result, the local vaccination effort broke down, and polio cases in Nigeria tripled over the next three years.<\/p>\n

\""Graph\"<\/p>\n

Until polio is eradicated everywhere, it remains a concern for all countries. The spread of polio is just one way that the instability of failing states presents risks to the rest of the world. This raises a troubling question: In a world of failing states, is the goal of eradicating polio, once so close at hand, now beyond our reach?<\/p>\n

Image credit:<\/strong> Centers for Disease Control at Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Smallpox plagued humanity for thousands of years. In the 18th century, smallpox killed one out of every ten children in France and Sweden. Over the 20th century, the virus caused [ … ]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":13462,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[5356,4085,4026,3192,404,2786,2856,5357,5358,5359,5360,5361,5362],"yoast_head":"\nSmallpox & Polio: Failing States and Public Health<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Does the rise of failing states make public health successes, like the eradication of smallpox, impossible? Earth Policy Institute considers the case of polio.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/smallpox-polio-failing-states\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Smallpox & Polio: Failing States and Public Health\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Does the rise of failing states make public health successes, like the eradication of smallpox, impossible? Earth Policy Institute considers the case of polio.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/smallpox-polio-failing-states\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sustainablog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-09-15T16:48:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/polio-vaccination.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"574\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Earth Policy Institute\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Earth Policy Institute\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/smallpox-polio-failing-states\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/smallpox-polio-failing-states\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Earth Policy Institute\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/303f42e2aea53dbc843da320af337631\"},\"headline\":\"Two Stories of Disease: Smallpox & Polio\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-09-15T16:48:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-09-15T16:48:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/smallpox-polio-failing-states\/\"},\"wordCount\":408,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Aid\",\"disease\",\"earth policy\",\"failing states\",\"Health\",\"Nigeria\",\"polio\",\"Rotary International\",\"Smallpox\",\"UNICEF\",\"Vaccination\",\"World Health Assembly\",\"World Health Organization\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Sustainability\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/smallpox-polio-failing-states\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/smallpox-polio-failing-states\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/smallpox-polio-failing-states\/\",\"name\":\"Smallpox & Polio: Failing States and Public Health\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-09-15T16:48:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-09-15T16:48:38+00:00\",\"description\":\"Does the rise of failing states make public health successes, like the eradication of smallpox, impossible? Earth Policy Institute considers the case of polio.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/smallpox-polio-failing-states\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/smallpox-polio-failing-states\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/smallpox-polio-failing-states\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Two Stories of Disease: Smallpox & Polio\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/\",\"name\":\"Sustainablog\",\"description\":\"Since 2003, Sustainablog has been one of the pioneers of sustainability news online.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Sustainablog\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/cropped-sblog-logo_3b.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/cropped-sblog-logo_3b.jpg\",\"width\":200,\"height\":142,\"caption\":\"Sustainablog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/303f42e2aea53dbc843da320af337631\",\"name\":\"Earth Policy Institute\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ecfb05903c76424e88346ee1fd31dacc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ecfb05903c76424e88346ee1fd31dacc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Earth Policy Institute\"},\"description\":\"Earth Policy Institute is dedicated to planning a sustainable future and providing a roadmap of how to get from here to there.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.earthpolicy.org\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/author\/earthpolicy\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Smallpox & Polio: Failing States and Public Health","description":"Does the rise of failing states make public health successes, like the eradication of smallpox, impossible? Earth Policy Institute considers the case of polio.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/smallpox-polio-failing-states\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Smallpox & Polio: Failing States and Public Health","og_description":"Does the rise of failing states make public health successes, like the eradication of smallpox, impossible? Earth Policy Institute considers the case of polio.","og_url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/smallpox-polio-failing-states\/","og_site_name":"Sustainablog","article_published_time":"2011-09-15T16:48:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":400,"height":574,"url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/polio-vaccination.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Earth Policy Institute","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Earth Policy Institute","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/smallpox-polio-failing-states\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/smallpox-polio-failing-states\/"},"author":{"name":"Earth Policy Institute","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/303f42e2aea53dbc843da320af337631"},"headline":"Two Stories of Disease: Smallpox & Polio","datePublished":"2011-09-15T16:48:38+00:00","dateModified":"2011-09-15T16:48:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/smallpox-polio-failing-states\/"},"wordCount":408,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization"},"keywords":["Aid","disease","earth policy","failing states","Health","Nigeria","polio","Rotary International","Smallpox","UNICEF","Vaccination","World Health Assembly","World Health Organization"],"articleSection":["Sustainability"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/smallpox-polio-failing-states\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/smallpox-polio-failing-states\/","url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/smallpox-polio-failing-states\/","name":"Smallpox & Polio: Failing States and Public Health","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-09-15T16:48:38+00:00","dateModified":"2011-09-15T16:48:38+00:00","description":"Does the rise of failing states make public health successes, like the eradication of smallpox, impossible? Earth Policy Institute considers the case of polio.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/smallpox-polio-failing-states\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/smallpox-polio-failing-states\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/smallpox-polio-failing-states\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Two Stories of Disease: Smallpox & Polio"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/","name":"Sustainablog","description":"Since 2003, Sustainablog has been one of the pioneers of sustainability news online.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization","name":"Sustainablog","url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/cropped-sblog-logo_3b.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/cropped-sblog-logo_3b.jpg","width":200,"height":142,"caption":"Sustainablog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/303f42e2aea53dbc843da320af337631","name":"Earth Policy Institute","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ecfb05903c76424e88346ee1fd31dacc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ecfb05903c76424e88346ee1fd31dacc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Earth Policy Institute"},"description":"Earth Policy Institute is dedicated to planning a sustainable future and providing a roadmap of how to get from here to there.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.earthpolicy.org"],"url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/author\/earthpolicy\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13459"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13459"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13459\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}