Inside STAT: After decades-long campaign, type 3 polioviruses are set to be eradicated 

A HEALTH WORKER IMMUNIZES A CHILD AGAINST POLIO DURING A VACCINATION CAMPAIGN IN KANO, NIGERIA. (PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

Thursday is World Polio Day, and there may be some good news to mark the occasion. A global commission is expected to announce that of the three poliovirus species — type 1, 2, and 3 — type 3 has been eradicated, leaving only type 1 left to fight. The news is especially welcome because the quest to eradicate all polio, which has formally been in the works since 1988, is 20 years past its original target date. Having news to celebrate will “show the world that we are making progress, even though it is a challenging situation and we have huge hurdles,” Michel Zaffran, director of polio eradication for WHO, one of several partners in the polio eradication campaign, tells STAT’s Helen Branswell. Read more here.