More than seven million to be vaccinated against polio

An estimated 7.3 million children under five years old will be vaccinated against polio from Friday through Sunday in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported. The first of two rounds of vaccinations will target children in some 200 health zones in the provinces of Bandundu, Bas-Congo, Equateur, Kasai Oriental and Occidental, Katanga, Maniema, North and South Kivu. UNICEF said that this latest campaign was part of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative that had been taking place for the past seven years in the DRC in an effort to stop the transmission of the wild polio virus. UNICEF said that since 2001, no case of polio due to the wild virus had been detected across the entire DRC, despite five years of war that limited access to many regions. DRC Health Minister Dr Yagi Sitolo said that if the country could continue this performance for another two years, the country would have an excellent chance of being certified polio-free by 2005, the target date for certification of the world as polio-free. However, despite this performance, UNICEF said that the threat of a reintroduction of wild polio virus remained owing to poor regular vaccination coverage, areas where vaccinations had never been administered due to insecurity, and the presence of polio in neighbouring countries, particularly Angola. In eastern DRC, where insecurity due to continued fighting among armed factions continues, UNICEF, WHO and local health and political authorities appealed to combatants to ensure safe passage for polio vaccinators so that they might reach all children. A second round of door-to-door vaccinations is planned to take place from 29 through 31 August, during which children aged six to 59 months will also receive Vitamin A supplement. The door-to-door outreach system is crucial to the eradication effort, a means of reaching children who would otherwise remain unreached because of reliance on parents bringing their children to central immunisation locations. In the 13 years since the polio eradication initiative was launched, the number of cases has fallen by 99 percent - from an estimated 350,000 cases to 3,500 in 2000. At the end of 2000, the number of polio-infected countries was no more than 20, having fallen from 125. The global initiative is spearheaded by UNICEF, the World Health Organisation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US, and Rotary International. It also includes national governments, development banks, and corporate partners. [For more details on the global campaign, go to www.polioeradication.org] UNICEF said it had provided US $4.9 million for the current campaign, or more than two-thirds of the entire $6.4 million budget, thanks to contributions from Belgium, Canada, Japan and the US. The funds have been used to purchase the polio vaccine and cold chain equipment; for transportation of materials; and for planning, training and management of vaccination teams. Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus that invades the nervous system, and can cause paralysis within hours. The virus enters the body through the mouth and multiplies in the intestines. Initial symptoms include fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness in the neck and pain in the limbs. One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis, usually in the legs. Of those paralysed, 5 to 10 percent die when their breathing muscles become immobilised.