tagged w/ Polio
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Narayan Seva Sansthan was founded on 23rd October 1985. Padmashri Dr. Kailash Manav is the founder of “Narayan Seva Sansthan”. Earlier, in the early days, Dr. Kailash Manav usually visits hospital everyday to enquire about the injured people. The emergence of Narayan Seva Sansthan (Trust) Udaipur occurred after a rememberable incidence, when Dr. Kailash Manav saw an old man eating one chapatti and hiding 2 chapattis by the side of the pillow. Curious to know the reason, behind this, Dr. Kailash Manav approached the old man whose name was KISHNA JI BHIL and asked, why have you kept remaining chapattis beside the pillow? The old man spoke to Dr. Kailash Manav with folded hands and tears in his eyes- Babuji! I am still quite hungry, but my brother and son who have come to take care of me have nothing to eat. Whatever money we had borrowed has been spent on my medicines. This event has completely changed their views. They decided to collect a handful of flour from the houses of neighbors, bake chapattis from this flour and distributed it among attendants of the poor patients in hospital every day.
Thus emerged “NARAYAN SEWA” with a handful of flour- which stands today as “Narayan Seva Sansthan, Trust”, Udaipur with many records, achievements, highlights and landmarks to its credit.
Since 1985, over one lakh polio afflicted people have been freely and successfully operated under Narayan Seva Sansthan’s move towards self-dependence of the handicapped. Sansthan has bagged Limca Award for the record number of polio operations. Besides free distribution of clothes, medicines, food grains etc. to the tribal in remote areas, it also provides free vocational training to the physically disabled and economically weaker sections of the society. Narayan Seva Sansthan (Trust) is running various polio hospitals from public donation. Sansthan is mainly organizing Bhagwat Katha on various places and mostly will be telecast on TV channels, appealing for the donation of polio victim people. We are also LIVE Telecasting seva pravachan by Dr. Kailash Manav on various TV channels like Astha, Zee TV and Sanskar etc. For social rehabilitation or development of children, we have opened residential school for deaf and dumb children. We are also accepting online donation, and the amount deposited is totally exempt from tax u/s 80G and 35 AC. Narayan Seva is organizing viklang vivah every year, and also tagged as polio disabled Top NGO India.
Narayan sewa has recently opened Sri Narayan - Mahaveer Naturopathy & Alternative Research Center in Udaipur. There is a sure short treatment for Blood- pressure, Diabetes, Cough and Cold, Asthma, Heart, Liver & Kidney aliments, Skin Diseases, Arthritis and rheumatism etc. As a part of holistic approach we offer daily Yoga sessions and excellent integrated treatment protocols for Stress, Rejuvenation, Detoxification & Weight-loss. Narayan Seva Sansthan (Trust) has various ashram branches in India and abroad. We are also treating cerebral palsy patient, and also organizing sneh Milan function for donors. We actively participate in various social welfare campaigns and also labeled as ISO certified organization.
Narayan Seva Sansthan has been creating success stories and looking after a section of the society that most often gets overlooked.
http://www.narayanseva.orgNarayan Seva Sansthan was founded on 23rd October 1985. Padmashri Dr. Kailash Manav is... more
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Africa is the home of many new, and old, bacteria, virus and fungus, that have been major threats to humanity in the past. This threat has worsened with the advent of airflight travel. Indeed, the U.S. has had at least two close calls with Ebolavirus.
Diseases that have been considered eradicated will, predictably, often turn up again in Africa. With unstable social situations, such as brought on by war, disease can spread literally like wildfire.
The latest is the outbreak of poliomyelitis. Right now it is in Chad and Yemen, as well as Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, but since there is an active war in Yemen, in which the U.S. is now secretly participating, with thousands of Yemen civilians fleeing their country--we are looking at a big threat of polio becoming, again, a living terrorist in our lives.
This calls for an improved quality of polio vaccine for vaccination of children. So far, in 2010 and 2011, the response to this international threat has been inadequate, and WHO designates it as "high risk" for spread internationally.
Just a reminder that war can spread very bad diseases (polio not being one of the worst) that can be transported back to us by the military contractors, soldiers, etc. who are active in the war.
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Poliomyelitis in Chad
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Chad is experiencing outbreaks of both wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1 -
65 cases in 2011) and wild poliovirus type 3 (WPV3 - 3 cases).
The WPV3 outbreak has been ongoing since November 2007, and Chad is
therefore considered to have re-established WPV3 transmission. A WPV1
outbreak began in September 2010 (as a result of a newly-imported
virus from northern Nigeria), and has since been intensifying.
Originally restricted to the greater N'Djamena area, WPV1 has spread
in 2011 to other areas of the country, to the south (including areas
bordering Central African Republic [CAR] and Cameroon) and to the east
(including areas bordering Sudan).
Historically, Chad has been associated with further international
spread of poliovirus. Between 2004 and 2006, WPV1 spread from eastern
Chad into Sudan, and subsequently to other areas of the Horn of
Africa, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Indonesia, resulting in 1230 cases in
these countries and over USD 500 million in international emergency
outbreak response costs. Additionally, in 2008 and 2009, WPV3 from
southern Chad spread into Cameroon and CAR.
The 2 outbreaks in Chad require urgent action to improve the quality
of vaccination activities in order to reach a higher proportion of
children with oral polio vaccine (OPV) across the entire country, and
particularly in the greater N'Djamena area, in the south and in the
east of the country. Due to gaps in the quality of acute flaccid
paralysis (AFP) surveillance at subnational levels, additional
undetected WPV circulation cannot be ruled out.
To urgently address the situation, the Government of Chad with the
technical support of partners has just finalized a 6 month national
polio emergency plan. National immunization days (NIDs) using bivalent
OPV have been conducted in May [2011], with further supplementary
immunization activities (SIAs) planned for June [2011]. The Government
of Chad and partners are working to ensure that technical support is
allocated to priority areas; special strategies will be used to reach
high-risk populations and technical capacity to fill subnational
surveillance gaps will be scaled up. As part of efforts to increase
accountability for programme implementation, key indicators will be
regularly monitored. Under the National Polio Emergency Plan, heads of
district administrations will be charged with overseeing
implementation reviews following each SIA, and providing summaries
with clear outcomes and recommendations to provincial governors, whose
offices will oversee direct oversight of the operationalisation of the
plan. At the national level, monthly implementation reports will be
prepared by the Ministry of Health and shared with the office of the
Prime Minister.
Throughout 2010 and 2011, countries neighbouring Chad -- notably
Cameroon, CAR, and Sudan -- have all conducted multiple SIAs, to
minimise the risk of re-infection. It is important that countries
across central Africa and the Horn of Africa strengthen AFP
surveillance in order to rapidly detect any poliovirus importations
and facilitate a timely response. Countries should also continue to
boost routine immunization coverage against polio to further
strengthen population immunity and minimize the risk of any
importation.
Potential for international spread
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In 2010 and 2011, outbreak response has been inadequate. Given the
uncontrolled and widespread geographic transmission of both WPV
serotypes, historical spread to neighbouring countries, recent
geographic expansion of WPV1 across Chad (including close to the
borders with CAR and Sudan), the World Health Organization (WHO) rates
as high the risk of further international spread. With the Hajj
(pilgrimage to Mecca, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) expected to begin in
early November [2011] and Ramadan in early August [2011], it is
anticipated that pilgrims are now beginning to move across west and
central Africa, further increasing the risk of polio spread. The
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia last month [May 2011] issued polio vaccination
requirements for travellers to the Hajj.
WHO recommendation
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WHO recommends that all travellers from polio-infected areas be fully
vaccinated prior to travel. As per recommendations outlined in WHO's
International travel and health (ITH), travelers to and from Chad
should be fully protected by vaccination. Travelers to Chad who have
in the past received 3 or more doses of OPV should be offered another
dose of polio vaccine before departure. Any unimmunized individuals
intending to travel to Chad require a complete course of vaccine.
Travelers from Chad should have a full course of vaccination against
polio before leaving Chad, with a minimum one dose of OPV before
departure. Some polio-free countries may also require travelers from
Chad to be immunized against polio in order to obtain an entry visa.
--
[From the description of the situation in Chad, there is significant
cause for concern -- the history of prior exportations of cases in
neighboring countries combined with an acknowledged weakness in acute
flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance suggesting a high likelihood that
there are as yet undetected cases of polio, is a worrisome situation.
Now that Nigeria appears to be approaching interruption of
transmission, there seems to be a chance that Chad will replace
Nigeria as and exporter of cases in the region.
-----------------Africa is the home of many new, and old, bacteria, virus and fungus, that have been... more
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“Nobody Knows How Deep it All Goes” is a mind stopping concept for me; like a Zen Koan when considered overflows river banks of thought, expanding outward through the body in a feeling sense of connection. There’s a kinship with ideas like “forever” and “God” only Nobody Knows has never been hijacked by a major religion. Since remembering the divine is the path to liberation, we remind each other of the spirit in a sundry of ways. I let my lyrics and music elicit a deeper place in the listener; the instruments bring the pulse while the word play is intended to expose hidden connections. These are poems; petitions really with points that seem different but say the same thing. http://infinitetolerance.com/personal/imagine-2/“Nobody Knows How Deep it All Goes” is a mind stopping concept for me;... more
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Bill Gates discusses the incredible lifesaving power of vaccines. In particular, he highlights the case of polio, which is 99 percent eradicated and within reach of being the second disease to ever be completely eliminated from the world.
Read the 2011 Annual Letter from Bill Gates at http://www.gatesfoundation.org/annualletter.Bill Gates discusses the incredible lifesaving power of vaccines. In particular, he... more
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For any developing country, there are a lot of other pressing problems than fighting a disease which affects less than thousand people worldwide. But Bill Gates realizes how close they are to their aim of eradication of polio.For any developing country, there are a lot of other pressing problems than fighting a... more
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Alstom
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British Prime Minister David Cameron announced here Friday that Britain is going to double its commitment to the polio-eradication campaign from 30 million U.S. dollars to 60 million dollars.
:http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-01/29/c_13711983.htmBritish Prime Minister David Cameron announced here Friday that Britain is going to... more
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suzane
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2 years ago
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Aid agencies are planning to immunise three million people in central Africa after a polio outbreak, which has killed more than 100 people.
Hundreds more have been paralysed by the disease, authorities have said.
The disease broke out in Congo-Brazzaville, but has also affected parts of neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola.
The government said the vast majority of deaths had occurred in the city of Pointe-Noire in Congo-Brazzaville.
Congo-Brazzaville had previously recorded its last case of indigenous polio in 2000.
The vaccination plan is being conducted by several aid agencies, including Unicef and the World Health Organization (WHO).
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READ MORE: http://globalpoliticalawakening.blogspot.com/2010/11/united-nations-says-three-million-will.htmlAid agencies are planning to immunise three million people in central Africa after a... more
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The New York Times
November 9, 2010
Congo Republic Declares a Polio Emergency
By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.
An explosive outbreak of polio is taking place in the Congo Republic, with 201 cases of paralysis found in two weeks and 104 deaths, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.
The government in Brazzaville, the nation’s capital, has declared an emergency and announced plans to vaccinate the entire population with oral drops three times with help from the W.H.O., Unicef and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In Pointe Noire, the port city where most of the cases are concentrated, “We’ve got two hospitals with hundreds of paralyzed people and many dead,” Dr. Bruce Aylward, the W.H.O.’s director of global polio eradication, said in an interview from Geneva. “And a couple of things about this outbreak are different and deeply disturbing.”
Polio normally strikes young boys and girls equally, killing no more than 20 percent of those it paralyzes; death ensues when paralysis moves up the spine to the nerves that control the breathing muscles. In Pointe Noire, 85 percent of the cases are in teenagers and adults, most victims are male, and the death rate is much higher.
However, Dr. Aylward said, as his team on its way there learns more, the outbreak could begin to look more typical, albeit still serious. “We’ve only heard about this in the last seven days,” he said. “This is very much under investigation.”
Pointe Noire is unusual in that rebel activity has so cut off its roads that the city is “almost like an island,” he said, with few outside children visiting. Routine polio vaccination in central Africa began only in the 1980s and focuses on children under age 5, so few adults are protected. Also, the weakened live virus in the vaccine spreads in the same way the disease virus does, shed in feces. Because mothers and sisters tend to change babies’ diapers, they may have picked up that accidental form of protection.
Also, the hospitals are probably seeing only serious cases, making the death rate artificially high. “We’re still dealing with the fog of war,” Dr. Aylward said. “We don’t have exact data.”
In 1996, he noted, there was an adult outbreak in long-isolated Albania after a few years in which only children got the modern vaccine.
It will take a few weeks to see whether the intense central African vaccination campaigns of the last few years can fence off this outbreak, Dr. Aylward said. He called the situation in the Congo Republic an unexpected setback in what had otherwise been a great year in fighting polio.
Nigeria, long Africa’s polio hot spot, had a 98 percent drop in cases since 2009, and 14 of the 15 countries with outbreaks of the Nigerian strain snuffed them out.
The Congo Republic outbreak is of an Indian strain that was first found in Angola in 2007 and is creeping north.
Meanwhile, in northern India, another polio epicenter, “it’s the middle of the high season, and we’ve had no cases in five weeks,” Dr. Aylward said. The worldwide polio-eradication campaign has $800 million less than it estimates it needs to finish the job, he said, “and we’ll never have an opportunity like this again.”
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/11/10/world/10POLIO/10POLIO-articleInline.jpgThe New York Times
November 9, 2010
Congo Republic Declares a Polio Emergency... more
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The global effort to eradicate polio received a major boost when violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman, a polio survivor himself, joined with the New York Philharmonic to perform at The Concert to End Polio. Visit http://bit.ly/rotaryendpolioThe global effort to eradicate polio received a major boost when violin virtuoso... more
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Polio is spreading in Nigeria -- and health officials say in some cases it's caused by the very vaccine used to fight the paralyzing disease.
The World Health Organization has issued a warning that this particular virus might extend beyond Africa. More than 120 Nigerian children have been paralyzed this year -- twice the number afflicted in 2008.
Nigeria and many other nations use an oral polio vaccine because it's cheaper, easier, and protects entire communities. But it's made from a live polio virus which carries a risk of causing polio. In even rarer instances, the virus in the vaccine can mutate into a deadlier version that ignites new outbreaks. Genetic analysis has proven that such mutated viruses have caused at least seven separate outbreaks in Nigeria.
Polio, a contagious disease caused by an intestinal virus, can cause paralysis, difficulty breathing and death in its worst form. However, what is often NOT shared is that in most cases polio is a mild illness, causing flu-like symptoms that disappear in two to 10 days.
Often, polio can occur and show no symptoms at all. Even the Mayo Clinic states:
“The vast majority of people who are infected with the polio virus don't become sick and are never aware they've been infected with polio.”
What else might surprise you is that all cases of polio after the introduction of the vaccine, in the developed world, came from the vaccine itself.
Mayo Clinic continues::
“In the U.S., the last case of wild polio -- polio caused naturally, not by a vaccine containing live virus -- occurred in 1979.”
Nigeria has also been facing outbreaks of polio that are caused by the polio vaccine itself! The nation has faced at least seven separate polio outbreaks caused by a mutated polio virus from the polio vaccine, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/01/Polio-Vaccine-Blamed-for-Outbreaks-in-Nigeria.aspxPolio is spreading in Nigeria -- and health officials say in some cases it's... more
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Polio, the dreaded paralyzing disease stamped out in the industrialized world, is spreading in Nigeria. And health officials say in some cases, it's caused by the vaccine used to fight it.
In July, the World Health Organization issued a warning that this vaccine-spread virus might extend beyond Africa. So far, 124 Nigerian children have been paralyzed this year - about twice those afflicted in 2008.
The polio problem is just the latest challenge to global health authorities trying to convince wary citizens that vaccines can save them from dreaded disease. For years, myths have abounded about vaccines - that they were the Western world's plan to sterilize Africans or give them AIDS. The sad polio reality fuels misguided fears and underscores the challenges authorities face using a flawed vaccine.
Nigeria and most other poor nations use an oral polio vaccine because it's cheaper, easier, and protects entire communities.
But it is made from a live polio virus - albeit weakened - which carries a small risk of causing polio for every million or so doses given. In even rarer instances, the virus in the vaccine can mutate into a deadlier version that ignites new outbreaks.
The vaccine used in the United States and other Western nations is given in shots, which use a killed virus that cannot cause polio.
So when WHO officials discovered a polio outbreak in Nigeria was sparked by the polio vaccine itself, they assumed it would be easier to stop than a natural "wild" virus.
They were wrong.
In 2007, health experts reported that amid Nigeria's ongoing outbreak of wild polio viruses, 69 children had also been paralyzed in a new outbreak caused by the mutation of a vaccine's virus.
Back then, WHO said the vaccine-linked outbreak would be swiftly overcome - yet two years later, cases continue to mount. They have since identified polio cases linked to the vaccine dating back as far as 2005.
It is a worrying development for officials who hope to end polio epidemics in India and Africa by the end of this year, after missing several earlier deadlines. "It's very disturbing," said Dr. Bruce Aylward, who heads the polio department at the World Health Organization.
This year, the number of polio cases caused by the vaccine has doubled: 124 children have so far been paralyzed, compared to 62 in 2008, out of about 42 million children vaccinated. For every case of paralysis, there are hundreds of other children who don't develop symptoms, but pass on the disease.
When Nigerian leaders suspended polio vaccination in 2003, believing the vaccine would sterilize their children and infect them with HIV, Nigeria exported polio to nearly two dozen countries worldwide, making it as far away as Indonesia.
Nigeria resumed vaccinations in 2004 after tests showed the vaccine was not contaminated with estrogen, anti-fertility agents or HIV.
Experts have long believed epidemics unleashed by a vaccine's mutated virus wouldn't last since the vaccine only contains a weakened virus strain - but that assumption is coming under pressure. Some experts now say that once viruses from vaccines start circulating they can become just as dangerous as wild viruses.
"The only difference is that this virus was originally in a vaccine vial," said Olen Kew, a virologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The oral polio vaccine used in Nigeria and elsewhere contains a mild version of the live virus. Children who have been vaccinated pass the virus into the water supply through urine or feces. Other children who then play in or drink that water pick up the vaccine's virus, which gives them some protection against polio.
But in rare instances, as the virus passes through unimmunized children, it can mutate into a strain dangerous enough to ignite new outbreaks, particularly if immunization rates in the rest of the population are low.
Click link to continue...Polio, the dreaded paralyzing disease stamped out in the industrialized world, is... more
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xiola
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3 years ago
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f you know your history, President Franklin Roosevelt (the first and only U. S. president to use a wheelchair) was a strong advocate of recreation as therapy. The Post-Polio group also serves as a reminder of the long history of therapeutic recreation that eventually gave birth to Camp ASCCA in 1976.
They refer to themselves as survivors. A strong, tight-knit group of friends and supporters, the group meets throughout the year in the Mobile-Pensacola area.
Read more at www.campascca.org/journalf you know your history, President Franklin Roosevelt (the first and only U. S.... more
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he World Health Organization is reporting on an emergency health crisis about to erupt in Northern Pakistan, as Taliban militants are blocking attempts by UN doctors to treat over 300,000 innocent children with the polio vaccine. Dr Nima Abid says children must be vaccinated during the first three months of the year, when the virus is at its lowest, for it to be the most effective. Taliban militants and clerics are using roving loudspeakers and underground radio stations, terrifying the local populace into believing the vaccine causes infertility and is part of a US anti-Muslim conspiracy.
This volatile situation is particularly disturbing, as UN doctors risk their lives to inoculate thousands of children against a contagious insidious disease, which is easily prevented with a simple vaccine. A roadside bomb killed a UN doctor in the tribal region of Bajaur in 2007, during a similar campaign by Islamist militants to block vaccinations.
The Northern region of Pakistan has been quickly developing into a tinderbox, just waiting for a spark to set it off. Taliban militants took over the area of Swat and the capital City of Mingora, turning what once was a lovely resort area, into a region where people are fearful to travel to. The Pakistani government gave up trying to oust them, and struck a controversial peace accord with the militant clerics to let them remain in a so called Taliban “safe haven.”
As part of the peace accord, the Taliban agreed to allow UN doctors to vaccinate the children. An agreement they have now broken. Taliban spokesman, Muslim Khan upped the rhetoric further, by saying it’s against Islam to take medicine before falling sick with a disease. He also claims the polio vaccines are a US plot to reduce the Muslim population. The Pakistani North West Frontier Province had 53-recorded cases of polio in 2008.
Meanwhile, UN doctors are meeting with Taliban Swat leaders to try and convince them to honor the terms of the peace accord and allow the doctors to vaccinate the children, before it is too late and a health crisis takes hold.he World Health Organization is reporting on an emergency health crisis about to erupt... more
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Is beauty more than skin deep? Hell no! Welcome to the golden age of skin science.
For more Sarah Haskins http://current.com/topics/88794117/sarah_haskins/new/0.htm
For more Target Women http://current.com/topics/88813968/target_women/new/0.htm
Target Women is a recurring segment on Current TV's weekly television show, infoMania. In each episode of Target Women, Sarah Haskins takes a look at the often-ridiculous way the media reaches out to women.
infoMania is a half-hour satirical news show that airs on Current TV. The show puts a comedic spin on the 24-hour chaos and information overload brought about by the constant bombardment of the media. Hosted by Conor Knighton and co-starring Brett Erlich, Sarah Haskins, Ben Hoffman, and Sergio Cilli, the show airs on Thursdays at 10 pm Eastern and Pacific Times and can be found online at current.com/infomania. And make sure to check out our facebook profile for special features at http://infomaniafacebook.com.Is beauty more than skin deep? Hell no! Welcome to the golden age of skin science.... more
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Polio could be wiped out in Nigeria - one of the world's last blackspots of the disease - thanks to an improved vaccine, research suggests.
An Imperial College London team found a recently introduced polio jab is four times more effective at protecting children than previous vaccines.
They say it could eradicate type 1 polio - the most common form - in Nigeria if it reaches enough children.
The study appears in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Last pockets of unvaccinated children now need to be reached to achieve elimination in Nigeria
Helen Jenkins
Imperial College London
Nigeria is one of only four countries in the world where polio has yet to be eliminated, and 82% of global cases reported so far this year have been in the country.
Polio is highly infectious and it primarily affects children under five years of age. A small minority of infected people develop permanent paralysis, which can be fatal.
The monovalent oral poliovirus vaccine, known as mOPV1, has been used in Nigeria since February 2006 and the number of reported cases of polio in the country fell by 75% between 2006 and 2007.
The latest study shows that just one dose of mOPV1 gives a child in Nigeria a 67% chance of being protected, compared with a 16% chance after receiving the standard trivalent vaccine.
However, the researchers warn that although the monovalent vaccine is proving very effective, many more children need to be immunised if the polio virus is to be eliminated in Nigeria.
In the north west zone of the country, where the majority of new cases are found, 21% of children report never having received a single dose of the vaccine and a further 55% have received fewer than the recommended four doses.
Concern raised
Earlier this year the World Health Assembly expressed alarm over a dramatic increase in type 1 cases in Nigeria because of poor immunisation in the north of the country.
The Nigerian government subsequently established a presidential taskforce to identify barriers to immunisation, and potential solutions.
Researcher Helen Jenkins, based at Imperial's MRC Centre for Outbreak Analysis and Modelling, said: "Nigeria and India are responsible for the vast majority of new global polio cases.
"In Nigeria, we now have an effective vaccine to use and we've seen the start of improvements in vaccine uptake.
"These last pockets of unvaccinated children now need to be reached to achieve elimination in Nigeria and this in turn will have a dramatic impact on the prospects of worldwide eradication."
In a statement the World Health Organization said the study proved the new vaccine was a "highly effective tool" - but operational problems stood in the way of successfully eradicating polio.
"To overcome the remaining operational challenges, full political oversight and engagement at all levels is necessary, as demonstrated by states such as Kebbi, where case numbers have declined following such engagement."
The researchers reached their conclusions after analysing the vaccination histories of 21,815 children with acute flaccid paralysis, 14% of whom had polio, collected between January 2001 and December 2007. Polio could be wiped out in Nigeria - one of the world's last blackspots of the... more
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The U.N. said guns fell silent across much of Afghanistan on Sunday for an International Peace Day that saw pledges by the U.S., NATO, the Afghan government and the Taliban to halt attacks.
Violence still marred the day. A Taliban attack Sunday killed two guards in one province, while in another a battle that began Saturday continued.
Still, the U.N. said tens of thousands of international troops, Afghan soldiers and Taliban militants “all stood down from offensive military operations in support of the biggest International Peace Day effort that Afghanistan has known.”
Most government officials around the country reported no violence, and several credited Peace Day efforts.
“Today is Peace Day. The soldiers are resting,” said Abdul Jalal Jalal, the police chief in Kunar province, which borders Pakistan.
“It’s crazy but apparently the Taliban sent out an e-mail saying they were going to abide by it if we were, and we definitely are,” he said. “It’s a great day to show Afghans exactly what peace is like and how their everyday life would be if they just booted out the bad guys.”
Taliban attacks have grown larger and more deadly this year. At least 120 U.S. soldiers and 104 troops from other NATO nations have died already in 2008, both record numbers. Overall, more than 4,500 people — mostly militants — have died in insurgency-related attacks this year.
Sunday was the 26th anniversary of the International Day of Peace, a U.N.-backed push for a day of nonviolence and global cease-fire. The U.N. mission in Afghanistan in particular heavily promotes the day.
Afghans around the country celebrated the day with sporting events, gatherings and marches. The Ministry of Public Health launched a polio vaccination campaign in which some 12,000 volunteers would vaccinate up to 1.8 million children from Sunday through Tuesday, the U.N. said.
The campaign also planned to vaccinate in the violence-plagued south, where medical workers are routinely attacked. Afghanistan is one of only 14 countries in the world where polio exists, according to the World Health Organization.The U.N. said guns fell silent across much of Afghanistan on Sunday for an... more
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"A Type 1 polio outbreak is right now raging in northern Nigeria. Of every 10 children paralysed by the Type 1 polio virus this year, eight are in Nigeria," Margaret Chan, WHO director-general told a Rotary conference in California last month."A Type 1 polio outbreak is right now raging in northern Nigeria. Of every 10... more
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