Polio in Somalia nearly 200 children have been paralysed

Polio in Somalia nearly 200 children have been paralysed - 26 march 2006 - 16:30

Polio - Nearly 200 children in Somalia have been paralysed with polio since the disease re-emerged in July 2005, and the virus is spreading in the lawless country, for the World Health Organisation (WHO). A nationwide vaccination campaign is being launched on Sunday to try to reach 1.4 million Somali children aged under five, the United Nations agency added.

24 march 2006, two new cases of poliomyelitis have been reported from two new regions: Lower Juba, southern Somalia and Mudug region, northeastern Somalia. These regions, with security-related restrictions, present a risk to neighbouring countries. The cases also threaten the progress made in Mogadishu, formerly the epicentre of the outbreak which has affected a total of 199 children to date, but which appears to be on the decline in the city.

Polio in Somalia nearly 200 children have been paralysed

A nation-wide polio vaccination campaign is to be launched on 26 March and aims to vaccine 1.4 million children in an effort to halt further spread of the virus and protect the gains made in Mogadishu. The campaigns will reach more than 34 million children with multiple doses of polio vaccine and rapidly boost population immunity in the Horn of Africa.

13 September 2005, One case of poliomyelitis has been reported in Mogadishu, Somalia where a 15-month old girl had onset of paralysis on 12 July 2005. Genetic sequencing is ongoing to determine the origin of the virus. Somalia had been polio-free since 2002. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative - spearheaded by the World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and UNICEF - today launched an ambitious new series of polio immunization campaigns to prevent the re-establishment of the disease in the Horn of Africa.

“The polio outbreak in Somalia, which occurred in July 2005 with an importation of polio virus, has affected a total of 199 children to date,” the WHO said in a statement.

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is spearheaded by national governments, the World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and UNICEF. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is a key partner in the global effort to eradicate polio. In addition to this most recent US$ 25 million grant, the Foundation previously provided US$ 85 million in funding, including US$ 10 million for the development of the monovalent oral polio vaccine. The polio case in Somalia occurred in Mogadishu. The case - a 15-month old girl - had onset of paralysis on 12 July 2005. Genetic sequencing is ongoing to determine the origin of the virus.

Global polio eradication efforts have reduced the number of polio cases from 350 000 annually in 1988 to 1163 cases in 2005 (as of 6 September). Six countries remain polio endemic: Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Niger and Egypt, however poliovirus continues to spread to previously polio-free countries. In total, ten previously polio-free countries have been re-infected in late 2004 and 2005: Somalia, Indonesia, Yemen, Angola, Ethiopia, Chad, Sudan, Mali, Eritrea and Cameroon. Evidence from other recent outbreaks in west and central Africa and Yemen confirms that rapid implementation of large-scale, high-quality immunization campaigns can rapidly stop epidemics in previously polio-free countries.

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