Airencracken
05-04-2005, 10:41 AM
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/2673.html
Two polio cases reported in Indonesia
Posted on : Wed, 04 May 2005 14:32:00 GMT | Author : Anne Roberts
News Category : Health
JAKARTA: Two cases of polio infection have been reported in Indonesia, but the health authorities in the country said they are confident of containing any possible epidemic.
Indonesia is coming across the disease for the first time in a decade. The cases were reported from the poor farming village of Girijaya in West Java province. Dr Umar Achmadi, head of communicable disease control for the Indonesian health ministry, said the second case was that of a 20-month-old girl. Earlier, an 18-month old boy was found to be suffering from the disease.
Achmadi said: “We did further investigation and we found six other cases of paralysis, we confirmed one more additional case, and five turned out negative. I got the test results this morning.”
The boy, Fikri, had fever and he was examined by a doctor, who said he would need more tests. Firki is now fully paralyzed.
The water-borne polio infects young children, attacking the nervous system and causing paralysis, muscular atrophy, deformation and sometimes death. There is no cure.
Indonesian health authorities believe the polio is genetically similar to the one detected in Nigeria in Africa, where the disease acquired epidemic proportions when the Muslim population boycotted vaccination among the children in 2003 alleging a US plot to make them infertile or infect them with Aids. Vaccinations were restarted in 2004 after the government stepped in. The disease was also reported in the Middle East and it is likely that an Indonesian migrant worker there may have brought it home.
Achamdi revealed that health authorities had conducted house-to-house vaccinations in the area. They now plan to vaccinate 5.2 million children under the age of five by July.
World Health Organization officials too said they are satisfied with the steps taken by the government to contain the outbreak.
Western Java is a place where only 55% of the children are protected by the vaccine, according to WHO figures. In the rest of the country as much as 90% of the children are vaccinated.
Indonesia is the 16th country re-infected with polio since 2003. Following the episode in Nigeria, almost all the reported polio cases cases have been traced to that country. Some of the other countries where the disease has reappeared are Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia.
The disease remains endemic in six countries - Afghanistan, Egypt, India, Niger, Nigeria and Pakistan - with vaccinations driving down the number of cases from 350,000 in 1988 to a few thousand in recent years.
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That sucks.
Two polio cases reported in Indonesia
Posted on : Wed, 04 May 2005 14:32:00 GMT | Author : Anne Roberts
News Category : Health
JAKARTA: Two cases of polio infection have been reported in Indonesia, but the health authorities in the country said they are confident of containing any possible epidemic.
Indonesia is coming across the disease for the first time in a decade. The cases were reported from the poor farming village of Girijaya in West Java province. Dr Umar Achmadi, head of communicable disease control for the Indonesian health ministry, said the second case was that of a 20-month-old girl. Earlier, an 18-month old boy was found to be suffering from the disease.
Achmadi said: “We did further investigation and we found six other cases of paralysis, we confirmed one more additional case, and five turned out negative. I got the test results this morning.”
The boy, Fikri, had fever and he was examined by a doctor, who said he would need more tests. Firki is now fully paralyzed.
The water-borne polio infects young children, attacking the nervous system and causing paralysis, muscular atrophy, deformation and sometimes death. There is no cure.
Indonesian health authorities believe the polio is genetically similar to the one detected in Nigeria in Africa, where the disease acquired epidemic proportions when the Muslim population boycotted vaccination among the children in 2003 alleging a US plot to make them infertile or infect them with Aids. Vaccinations were restarted in 2004 after the government stepped in. The disease was also reported in the Middle East and it is likely that an Indonesian migrant worker there may have brought it home.
Achamdi revealed that health authorities had conducted house-to-house vaccinations in the area. They now plan to vaccinate 5.2 million children under the age of five by July.
World Health Organization officials too said they are satisfied with the steps taken by the government to contain the outbreak.
Western Java is a place where only 55% of the children are protected by the vaccine, according to WHO figures. In the rest of the country as much as 90% of the children are vaccinated.
Indonesia is the 16th country re-infected with polio since 2003. Following the episode in Nigeria, almost all the reported polio cases cases have been traced to that country. Some of the other countries where the disease has reappeared are Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia.
The disease remains endemic in six countries - Afghanistan, Egypt, India, Niger, Nigeria and Pakistan - with vaccinations driving down the number of cases from 350,000 in 1988 to a few thousand in recent years.
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That sucks.