In December 2019, polio was detected in Malaysia for the first time in 27 years. In September 2021, the country declared the polio outbreak to be over. To commemorate World Polio Day on 24 September, consultant paediatricians Dr Selva Kumar Sivapunniam and Dato’ Dr Musa Mohd Nordin join us to share how the outbreak started in Sabah, how it was stamped out amid the COVID-19 pandemic and what lessons need to be learnt to ensure the highly infectious childhood disease doesn’t return.

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