26 Oct 2010

New polio vaccine found to be more effective

9:39 pm on 26 October 2010

Scientists say the total eradication of polio - one of the most dreaded childhood diseases of the 20th century - may finally be in sight.

A new vaccine recently used in trials in two of the last four countries where polio is still endemic, Nigeria and India, resulted in cases dropping by up to 95%.

Research published online in the journal The Lancet shows the new vaccine is significantly better at protecting children against polio than the current popular vaccine.

Mass vaccination campaigns have led to the number of polio endemic countries falling from 125 in 1988 to just four in 2005.