Has polio evolved since the vaccine? Why don't we get a polio vaccine every year like the flu?

Question

Thank you bacteria boy, your expertise in microbiology is appreciated...

Answer 1

First let me address the first two answers: polio is a virus, not a "germ", and polio has not been wiped out. It was restricted to just a handful of african countries, unfortunately it has started spreading again.

To answer your question, polio doesn't have a diverse protein coat, and so our vaccine doesn't really need changing. In flu, there are a couple of surface proteins that keep changing, and so we produce new vaccines each year based on the current protein configurations.

Answer 2

The reason we don't need a polio vaccine every year is because the only living polio viruses are in cryo-storage. It was essentially wiped out when we began giving polio vaccinations, and since it can't get out of the freezer, it doesn't have any opportunity to evolve (or else it probably would).

Answer 3

because polio vaccination is like a tetnis shot (metaphoricly speaking). a polio vaccination 'germs' (dont know what to call it) last much longer than flu vaccination 'germs' bacause the flu is only seasonal when you catch it, you can catch polio anytime of the year.

Answer 4

No, it hasn't evolved, and had nearly been wiped out....but due to third world countries where the vaccine is not available, and the fact that many parents just choose not to have their children innoculated, it is on the rise again.

Answer 5

I have NO clue