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Why is the oral vaccine for polio not given to children suffering from diarrhea?

There are two possible reasons for why the oral polio vaccine ("polio drops") might not be given to children or infants with diarrhea. The first reason would be that this vaccine, like any other, triggers a minor immune response. The purpose of a vaccine is to train the body to recognize and fight off specific infections by introducing a weak or dead form of the virus. After a vaccine, it is common to experience minor symptoms associated with that illness. For example, someone who has received the flu vaccine may feel a little feverish, fatigued, or achey for a day or so. Similar symptoms may arise after a vaccination for polio, but in the case where a child is already ill and experiencing an immune response, introducing the polio virus to the body could potentially be dangerous. Infants and children may not have the immune fortitude to fight off multiple infections at once, and the combined immune response could trigger dangerously high fevers or dehydration from diarrhea and vomiting.


A second reason, which has been tracked in this study of infants in Brazil, is that the polio vaccine is less effective in those suffering from diarrhea. When someone is suffering from gastrointestinal distress, digestion and absorption of nutrients are affected. Similarly, an oral vaccine given when a child has diarrhea may not be properly processed by the body. The World Health Organization recommends that the oral vaccine either be delayed until a child has recovered from their digestive troubles, or that they are vaccinated once while experiencing diarrhea and again after returning to good health.

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