Vaccination campaign kicks off as polio cases rise

The number of confirmed polio cases in Yemen soared to 426, from 300 reported in July, amounting to three quarters of the world’s total number of cases. In response to the recent increase, another nationwide vaccination campaign kicked off on Monday targeting some 4 million children below the age of five years. Officials said immunisation would continue to until new cases stop being registered. The Ministry of Health in Yemen announced the completion in July of two rounds of a campaign following a polio outbreak in May, and reported a high level of success in reaching vulnerable children. But there are still concerns that some people may have been missed. "The number of confirmed cases of polio until 21 August reached 426. Given this number, Yemen at present accounts for almost 75 percent of the total polio cases world worldwide," WHO representative for Yemen, Dr Hashim al-Zain said in the capital, Sana. The polio outbreak was confirmed in mid-May after 18 cases were reported, following the completion of a routine national immunisation programme conducted in April. During the second round of vaccinations in July, there were reports of refusals of immunisation both by doctors and clerics in rural areas. But, according to UNICEF and Ministry of Health officials, this had only a minor impact on the overall success of the campaign and the new drive is to ensure that all those who are vulnerable have been covered. Most of the reports of refusals were based on the fact that there were cases of polio confirmed following the first round of vaccinations in April, according to experts conducting the emergency campaign. This outbreak, despite vaccination having taken place, caused suspicion among some Yemenis. The WHO official pointed out that the spread of the virus was directly related to the lack of proper immunisation in Yemen and consequent skepticism among the public of the validity of the vaccines. "The virus hit 17 provinces so badly because there has been low vaccination, particularly in places like Hodeidah [226 km to the southwest of Sana]. Therefore, the virus has found a good environment to grow," al-Zain explained. "Most of the recent 49 suspected cases of polio have been located in the provinces of Hajja [123 km from Sana] , Sa'ada, [242 km north of Sana] and Thamar, [100 km to the west of the capital], where parents refused immunisation. We do still have 100 cases that are being examined in the laboratories and it will take three weeks for the results to come out," al-Zain said. He called upon the media to help in getting the message the local people on the importance of immunisation. The Ministry of Health, WHO, and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) will collaborate on the three-day nationwide vaccination. This drive will be the fourth round vaccinations that are expected to continue till the end of the year. The contribution of the WHO to these campaigns have reached so far $4.5 million. The ministry, which had sent its own doctors and religious leaders around the country to convince skeptics during the latest round, said campaigns have been very successful, reaching 98 percent in the last round. Dr Ali al-Mudhwahi, director of family health at the ministry said the door-to-door aspect of the last campaign had built up the trust of families. He added that the third campaign had seen far fewer reports of refusals of cooperation. He explained that constant vaccination campaigns have been successful in fighting the disease, which invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours. Yemen was designated polio free by WHO in 1996 and officials say the latest outbreak confirmed in May was brought in from Africa. "I think this virus was definitely brought to Yemen, because we had no problem [with polio] for the last six years. If the virus was indigenous we would have seen it within the last six years," the Yemeni health official explained earlier. There are only six countries in the world considered polio-endemic: Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Niger, Afghanistan and Egypt. A total of 1,266 cases of polio were reported worldwide in 2004, according to the WHO.