China approves new vaccine against poliomyelitis

A medical worker gives a polio vaccine to a child in Hami prefecture in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Cai Zengle / for China Daily

China's drug watchdog has licensed a new vaccine against the poliomyelitis, the Ministry of Science and Technology announced Thursday.

The vaccine (S-IPV) is manufactured by the Institute of Medical Biology of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, located in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan province.

It was welcomed by the World Health Organization (WHO). "The new vaccine will be an important weapon in the fight against polio as the world nears the eradication of the deadly disease," said Dr. Bernhard Schwartlander, WHO Representative in China.

Poliomyelitis is a highly contagious disease caused by the poliovirus. which invades the nervous system and can cause lifelong paralysis, or even death.

China has been confirmed by the WHO as a nation free from the Poliomyelitis since 2000. The S-IPV is a breakthrough for China to keep the polio-free status and for the world to kill the polio, according to Dr Schwartlander.

The WHO is considering use of the new vaccine in its global polio treatment program.