Indonesia mulls final anti-polio drive in November
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Indonesia hopes to hold another polio immunization drive in November to stamp out the disease, an official said on Wednesday, a day after launching a program to vaccinate millions of children for the second time this year.
There have been 240 polio cases in Indonesia since May, when the crippling disease re-emerged after being eradicated from the world’s fourth most populous country a decade ago.
In the two rounds of immunization so far, Indonesia has targeted around 24 million children across the vast archipelago.
The campaign followed two smaller programs in West Java, where the disease was first found, and in two adjacent provinces.
A Health Ministry official said that, although Tuesday’s program had been a success, Indonesia needed to carry out one more round to finally wipe out the water-borne disease that can cause irreversible paralysis within hours.
“This second round will take a week ... but on this second day we have already received reports (of) reaching around 70 percent. We are optimistic,” said Jane Soepardi, the ministry’s head of immunization.
Asked about the World Health Organization’s advice to hold a third round of national polio vaccinations this year, Soepardi said: “In November. The sooner the better.”
“However, it depends on the supply of resources, vaccines and funding,” she told Reuters.
The immunization program thus far has cost $24 million.
Around one million people are employed for each nationwide polio drive. The workers visit homes to ensure children go to the neighborhood immunization posts on the day of the vaccination program.
The country reported its last case of polio on August 14, but so far this year nobody stricken with the disease has died.
The global battle against polio has faced setbacks in the past two years since Nigeria’s northern state of Kano banned immunization out of fear it could cause sterility or spread HIV/AIDS. Vaccinations resumed after a 10-month ban.
But the virus spread across Africa, crossed the Red Sea into Saudi Arabia and Yemen, and reached Indonesia, infecting previously polio-free countries along the way.
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