http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010614/hl/polio_1.html
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Thursday
June 14 6:01 PM ET
By Emma Patten-Hitt, PhD
ATLANTA (Reuters Health) - Major progress has been made in wiping out polio in
west and central Africa through synchronized annual national immunization days
(NIDs), according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (news
- web
sites) (CDC). And the success may lay the groundwork for reaching this
population with other vaccines, researchers suggest.
``We have made a lot of progress in poliomyelitis eradication,'' the CDC's
Dr. Fabio Lievano told Reuters Health, ''and we expect to achieve polio
eradication within the next 3 years, maximum.''
Implemented by the World Health Organization (news
- web
sites) (WHO) in 1988, NIDs involve days on which parents can bring their
children to a health post to be vaccinated and when workers go house-to-house
vaccinating children.
Although most countries in west and central Africa have conducted annual
NIDs since 1996, poliovirus was still circulating in 2000. So starting in late
2000, 14 of 16 countries in western Africa, along with Cameroon and Chad,
synchronized their NID efforts.
The effort involved approximately 300,000 health workers, and the
distribution of about 180 million doses of oral polio vaccine, according to the
CDC.
Because of synchronized efforts, the number of children vaccinated increased
from 65 million in 1999 to 77 million in November 2000. In addition, the number
of poliovirus cases per 100,000 children decreased from 1309 to 879, CDC
researchers report in the June 15th issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly
Report.
Although three of the participating countries experienced civil unrest or
war at the time of the national immunization days, they managed to implement
the program anyway--''demonstrating that polio eradication activities can be
implemented in countries in conflict and can promote peace building,'' the
researchers write.
``Rival factions agreed to respect cease-fires so that children could be
vaccinated,'' they note.
``We need to continue the implementation of national immunization days,''
Lievano said. ``As long as we continue to implement this program, I think polio
will be eradicated in the next 2 to 3 years.''
According to Lievano, the program may extend to other types of vaccinations
as well. ``The people we have trained are now interested in working with
vaccines against measles and other vaccines such as
diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DPT) vaccine,'' he said. ``By developing these
networks, we can expand the programs of immunization.''
But Lievano also noted that the main problem right now is that the program
is short about $400 million to complete the task. ``Vaccines are very cheap.
All the vaccines cost less than a dollar,'' he said. ``We have secured $600
million from now to the year 2005, but we still need more money.''
SOURCE: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2001;50:481-485.
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