Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/caplan1/English
Is Eradicating Polio a Good Idea?
Arthur Caplan
PHILADELPHIA ? Polio broke out in Central Asia this year, with 560 cases reported in Tajikistan. Cases have also been diagnosed in Russia and Uzbekistan, apparently transmitted by infected but asymptomatic people traveling from Tajikistan.
The Tajikistan outbreak is especially troubling, because the country had been certified by the World Health Organization as polio-free. Indeed, the drive to eradicate polio, as the Tajikistan tragedy shows, may be putting the entire world at risk. It makes no sense to talk about eradicating diseases like polio if a small outbreak in a remote part of the globe can rapidly spread and imperil billions...
Is Eradicating Polio a Good Idea?
Arthur Caplan
PHILADELPHIA ? Polio broke out in Central Asia this year, with 560 cases reported in Tajikistan. Cases have also been diagnosed in Russia and Uzbekistan, apparently transmitted by infected but asymptomatic people traveling from Tajikistan.
The Tajikistan outbreak is especially troubling, because the country had been certified by the World Health Organization as polio-free. Indeed, the drive to eradicate polio, as the Tajikistan tragedy shows, may be putting the entire world at risk. It makes no sense to talk about eradicating diseases like polio if a small outbreak in a remote part of the globe can rapidly spread and imperil billions...