Anti-polio campaign targets five million children

Following the recent confirmation of polio cases in Ethiopia, local health authorities in collaboration with the United Nations and other agencies will embark on a second round of a four-day vaccination campaign to stem the spread of the polio virus in identified high-risk regions in the north and east of the country, officials said. The campaign, which begins on Friday, aims to reach five million children under the age of five in 15 zones of Tigray, Amhara, Oromia, and Harari regions, as well as Dire Dawa City Administration, according to the Ethiopian government and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). The first round of the vaccination campaign was conducted in February. The zones to be covered during the house-to-house campaign are Central, Mekele and Southern zones of Tigray Region; Bahir Dar, West Gojam, North Gondar, South Gondar, North Wollo, South Wollo, and Wag Himera zones of Amhara Region; Arsi, East Harerghe and West Harerghe zones of Oromia Region; Dire Dawa City Administration and Harari Region, according to a statement issued by the government and UN agencies. Some 14,000 volunteers and health workers will be organised into teams to carry out the vaccinations. Thirty-two national and international facilitators have already been deployed to the regions to assist the regional health bureaus in coordinating the campaign. Vaccinators will use the monovalent vaccine, which is considered to be the most effective vaccine against wild poliovirus (WPV), the strain that has been identified in the country, according to the statement. As of 20 March, 24 polio cases had been confirmed in Ethiopia, which had been free from polio for almost four years, from January 2001 to December 2004. The most recent cases were identified in East Harerghe Zone of Oromia Region and Wag Himera Zone of the Amhara Region on 6 December 2005 and 1 February, respectively. Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that mainly affects children under age three. It invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours.