Imperial News

Double vaccines 'could hasten the end of polio'

by Susannah Fisher

Using both types of polio vaccine could speed up efforts to free the world of the disease, research suggests.

Double vaccines 'could hasten the end of polio'

The oral vaccine is leading the fight to eradicate polio, but trials in India show an additional injection of inactivated virus boosts immunity.

The World Health Organization said the findings, published in the journal Science, were "truly historic".

The disease, which is spread through contaminated faeces, can cause paralysis and even death.

Fighting polio has been one of the biggest success stories in global health.

Nick Grassly, MRC Centre for Outbreak Analysis and Modelling