Page 2 - Polio

640k kids, 1.3 mn doses, 3 days: UN's plan to vaccinate Gaza against polio

The UN health agency and partners are launching a campaign starting Sunday to vaccinate 640,000 Palestinian children in Gaza against polio, an ambitious effort amid a devastating war that has destroyed the territory's healthcare system. The campaign comes after the first polio case was reported in Gaza in 25 years a 10-month-old boy, now paralyzed in the leg. The World Health Organization says the presence of a paralysis case indicates there could be hundreds more who have been infected but aren't showing symptoms. Most people who have polio do not experience symptoms, and those who do usually recover in a week or so. But there is no cure, and when polio causes paralysis it is usually permanent. If the paralysis affects breathing muscles, the disease can be fatal. The vaccination effort will not be easy: Gaza's roads are largely destroyed, its hospitals badly damaged and its population spread into isolated pockets. WHO said Thursday that it has reached an agreement with Israel for

Israel, Hamas agree to zoned 3-day pauses for Gaza polio vaccinations: WHO

The WHO confirmed on Aug. 23 that at least one baby has been paralyzed by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years

Wasn't polio wiped out? Here's why it is still problem in some countries

Polio was eliminated from most parts of the world as part of a decadeslong effort by the World Health Organisation and partners to wipe out the disease. But polio is one of the world's most infectious diseases and is still spreading in a small number of countries. The WHO and its partners want to eradicate polio in the next few years. Until it is gone from the planet, the virus will continue to trigger outbreaks anywhere children are not fully vaccinated. The recent polio infection in an unvaccinated baby in Gaza is the first time the disease has been reported in the territory in more than 25 years. What is polio? Polio is an infection caused by a virus that mostly affects children under 5. Most people infected with polio don't have any symptoms, but it can cause fever, headaches, vomiting and stiffness of the spine. In severe cases, polio can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis within hours, according to the WHO. The UN agency estimates that 1 in 200 polio cases results i

As Israel-Hamas war escalates, polio strikes Gaza for first time in 25 yrs

Born into the devastating Israel-Hamas war, 10-month-old Abdel-Rahman Abuel-Jedian started crawling early. Then one day, he froze his left leg appeared to be paralyzed. The baby boy is the first confirmed case of polio inside Gaza in 25 years, according to the World Health Organization. Abdel-Rahman was an energetic baby, said the child's mother, Nevine Abuel-Jedian, fighting back tears. Suddenly, that was reversed. Suddenly, he stopped crawling, stopped moving, stopped standing up, and stopped sitting. Health care workers in Gaza have been warning of the potential for a polio outbreak for months, as the humanitarian crisis unleashed by Israel's offensive on the strip only grows. Abdel-Rahman's diagnosis confirms health workers' worst fears. Before the war, Gaza's children were largely vaccinated against polio, the WHO says. But Abdel-Rahman was not vaccinated because he was born just before Oct. 7, when Hamas militants attacked Israel and Israel launched a retaliatory offensive

As the world grapples with rising Mpox cases, India detects a polio case

A two-year-old child in Meghalaya has been confirmed to have polio, raising concerns as India was declared polio-free by WHO in 2014. WHO is looking into the vaccine-derived infection cases

Gujarat CM launches anti-polio campaign to vaccinate 837,200 children

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Sunday launched a state-wide anti-polio campaign, which aims to vaccinate 83.72 lakh children below the age of five, an official said. The initiative was launched to mark National Immunisation Day as part of the Children Polio Eradication Campaign 20-24, a CMO release said. "The state health department aims to vaccinate over 83.72 lakh children in the 0-5 age group. To achieve this, 1,33,956 health workers will administer drops at 33,489 polio booths across the state. From June 24 to 25, health workers will conduct door-to-door visits to administer polio drops to children," it said. Patel launched the campaign at the community centre in Mantri Niwas Complex in Gandhinagar by administering polio drops to a few children in the presence of Mayor Miraben Patel and Principal Secretary (Health) Dhananjay Dwivedi.

Pak confirms 5th polio case of year, 17 days after victim's death

Pakistan has confirmed the fifth polio case of the year, more than a fortnight after the victim's death, jolting the country's efforts to eradicate the crippling disease. The victim, a two-year-old child from Balochistan's Quetta, died on May 22 before the confirmation of the poliovirus, the Dawn newspaper reported. With the onset of paralysis on April 29, the case was confirmed after six weeks on Saturday, instead of the usual three weeks taken for diagnosis, the report said, quoting an official at the Regional Reference Laboratory of the National Institute of Health (NIH). According to the NIH, the child's legs were affected by the crippling disease initially. He was later shifted to Karachi, but his condition worsened as the disease spread to his arms. He passed away a few weeks later, the report said. The official said the child had not received a single dose of polio vaccine during routine immunisation. However, records show that he received five vaccine doses during ...

Pakistan working hard to eradicate polio: Shehbaz Sharif assures Bill Gates

Pakistan, one of two countries where polio remains endemic, was working tirelessly to eradicate the disease, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday, as he underlined that all partners needed to put in continuous efforts to reach the ultimate goal of a polio-free Pakistan. Prime Minister Sharif discussed with Bill Gates, the founder and co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the ongoing activities between Pakistan and the foundation in the areas of immunisation, nutrition and financial inclusion on the sidelines of a special meeting of the World Economic Forum. Gates, in the interaction with the prime minister on the sidelines of the WEF special meeting here, praised the programme of immunisation and polio immunisation in Punjab under Sharif's leadership as chief minister of the province and suggested the spread of the practice across the country, a statement released on X said. Recalling Gates' visit to Pakistan in February 2022, the prime minister invited him to .

Polio vax supplies: Health secy visits OPV maker Bilthoven's Dutch plant

Bilthoven Biologicals is an arm of Serum Institute of India that makes oral polio vax

Bharat Biotech, Bilthoven Biologicals collaborate for oral polio vaccines

Bharat Biotech on Tuesday said it has collaborated with the Netherlands-based Bilthoven Biologicals B.V, a wholly-owned arm of Serum Institute of India, to strengthen production and supply security of oral polio vaccines. An agreement has been signed between the two partners under which Bharat Biotech will procure drug substances for the production of oral polio vaccines (OPVs) to be supplied within India and globally, the company said in a statement. Through this collaboration, Bharat Biotech and Bilthoven Biologicals (BBio) will jointly obtain regulatory approvals and licences required to commercially manufacture OPVs in India for global supplies from drug substances manufactured in the Netherlands at BBio, it added. "This collaboration...exemplifies cooperation between vaccine companies, ensuring a secure supply of oral polio vaccines and fortifies the nation's mission to eradicate polio," Bharat Biotech Executive Chairman Krishna Ella said. Serum Institute of India CEO Adar ...

National Vaccination Day 2024: History, importance and more about this day

National Vaccination Day is celebrated every year in India on 16 March to acknowledge and appreciate the hard work of frontline health care workers to ensure the vaccination of every child

91,237 kids administered vaccine during Goa's polio immunisation programme

A total of 91,237 children in the age group of 0-5 years have been administered vaccine doses during the Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme held in Goa. The immunisation programme was held on Sunday across 660 polio booth camps in Goa, as per a media statement issued by the state Directorate of Health Services. "Total 91,237 doses were administered to the children, which means an equal number of children benefitted with the programme," the official said. The target was to cover more than one lakh children during the campaign, he said. This will be followed by a house-to-house survey and coverage activity from March 4-6 during which doses for the left over children would be administered, he added.

Bomb explosion kills 6 Pak policemen going to escort polio vaccination team

A bomb explosion targeted policemen going to provide security for polio vaccination workers in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Monday, killing six of them and injuring 22 others. The incident occurred in the Mamund tehsil of Bajaur district in the province bordering Afghanistan. The police personnel had just boarded a van to join security duty with polio vaccination teams when the explosion occurred. The injured have been shifted to a nearby hospital, where an emergency was declared. Six policemen were killed and 22 others injured in the explosion. The police spokesperson said all the casualties were of police personnel. Caretaker Chief Minister KPK Arshad Hussain condemned the attack and said the war against terrorism would go on till the elimination of the last terrorist. Polio teams are often targeted by militants in Pakistan due to opposition to the vaccine. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack but Islamist militants, including the

90% polio cases in Pakistan 'imported' from Afghanistan: Health minister

Nadeem's remarks came after two more samples tested positive for the poliovirus in Pakistan, just a day after this year's third case surfaced

Pakistan launches anti-polio vaccine drive targeting 44 mn children

Pakistan launched its second nationwide anti-polio campaign of the year Monday in an effort to inoculate 44 million children under the age of 5 amid signs the country was close to eradicating the disease. Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul-Haq-Kakar launched the five-day vaccination campaign in the capital, Islamabad, and urged parents in a televised address to cooperate with the 350,000 health workers who are going door-to-door to administer vaccine drops to children. The campaign was taking place under heavy security. The government deployed police and security forces to ensure the safety of the inoculation drive workers. Vaccine providers and the police assigned to protect them have been attacked during past anti-polio campaigns, which militants falsely claimed were a Western conspiracy to sterilise children. Pakistan has registered two new polio cases since January, a blow to the goal of eradicating a disease that affects the nervous system and can cause severe paralysis in ...

WHO extends travel restrictions on Pak for 3 months amid polio breakout

It stressed that the ongoing risk of a polio epidemic in Pakistan is underscored by recent favourable environmental tests from Peshawar and Karachi

Scientists develop 2 new polio vaccines to help eradicate viral disease

Scientists have developed two novel oral polio vaccines (nOPVs) that they say will bolster the World Health Organization's most recent push to finally eradicate the viral disease. The two nOPVs, recently described in the journal Nature, are made from weakened poliovirus that has been genetically engineered to reduce reversion to dangerous forms of the virus. "With such variation in vaccination within and between countries, poliovirus has persisted into the 21st century, with sometimes tragic consequences," said Raul Andino, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in the US. "We have designed these new vaccines using lessons learned from many years of fighting polio and believe they will help eliminate the disease once and for all," said Andino, co-senior author of the research paper. Polio is usually asymptomatic, but can cause severe disability, paralysis or death in about one in every hundred children. It spreads via fecal or oral particles, so it is ...

Wild poliovirus detected in environmental samples in Pakistan: Report

Two environmental samples collected from Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have tested positive for wild poliovirus, the Health Ministry said.

DMRC sets up pulse polio booths at 18 metro stations; check list here

Earlier, Punjab and Haryana governments also launched a three-day polio immunisation campaign in their states

Nearly 1.5 mn to be covered under pulse polio immunisation drive in Haryana

Nearly 15 lakh children will be covered under the first sub-national immunisation round of pulse polio 2023-24 that will take place in six districts of Haryana, according to an official statement. The six districts are Faridabad, Gurugram, Jhajjar, Mewat, Sonipat and Kaithal in which booth activity was undertaken on the first day in order to maintain the polio-free status of the state, it said. Also referred to as SNID, the three-day campaign will continue for another two days by way of house-to-house activity to trace and administer polio drops to the left-out children on booth day. On the first day of the activity, approximately 7.9 lakh children under 5 years of age have been administered polio drops. In order to smoothly carry out this campaign, around 6,600 booths were set up in the state and these were manned by approximately 26,000 health officials and Anganwadi workers and volunteers. The left-out children during the booth activity on the first day will be administered pol