Millions of Indonesian children to be immunised to prevent polio outbreak spreading
In an attempt to combat Indonesia's largest recorded polio epidemic, which is threatening several countries across Asia, 24 million children will be immunised during the country's largest-ever mass immunisation campaign.
In an attempt to combat Indonesia's largest recorded polio epidemic, which is threatening several countries across Asia, 24 million children will be immunised during the country's largest-ever mass immunisation campaign.
Some 225 children have been paralysed since March, due to a poliovirus imported into the country earlier this year.
Dr David Heymann, the representative for Polio Eradication at the World Health Organization (WHO), said: 'In addition to paralysing children throughout Java and southern Sumatra, the outbreak continues to expand, and there is a risk that it could spread into neighbouring countries.'
On 30 and 31 August, more than 750 000 vaccinators, health workers and volunteers, will go house-to-house and work at vaccination booths across Indonesia to reach children under the age of five years. With more than 6,000 inhabited islands across the country, this will be a challenge.
The campaign on 30 August will be followed by additional immunisation rounds on 27 September and early November.
Indonesia had been polio-free since 1995, but on 13 March, 2005, a 20-month old boy in, West Java, was paralysed by polio. Genetic analysis of the virus suggests it had been imported from Sudan. Since then, 225 children have been paralysed by polio in Indonesia.
Past global eradication efforts have reduced the number of polio cases from 350 000 annually in 1988 to 1,110 in 2005 (as of 24 August). Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Niger and Egypt, remain polio endemic, however, poliovirus continues to spread to previously polio-free countries. In total, 18 previously polio-free countries have been re-infected since mid-2003.