Indonesia - Mass Polio Vaccination Underway Following 'Extraordinary' Outbreak : ABC News

 Article shared by Ian MacLeod

Eleven children in Indonesia’s East Java province have been diagnosed with polio, health officials reported this week. The cluster of cases on the island of Madura has prompted the declaration of a health emergency.  Of the 11 afflicted children, 9 displayed no symptoms yet tested positive, while 2 exhibited signs of paralysis requiring intensive care.

WHO typically logs only dozens of global polio cases per year, mostly confined to nations like Afghanistan and Pakistan. So the Indonesian outbreak signals cause for concern.

Indonesia was declared polio-free along with 10 other Southeast Asian nations in 2014 by the World Health Organization (WHO). However, the highly infectious disease has now resurfaced after nearly a decade.  

Experts believe lapses in childhood vaccination rates during the COVID-19 pandemic may explain the disease’s reemergence. Lockdowns and access issues prevented many Indonesian toddlers from receiving their scheduled immunizations in recent years.  

Rapid vaccination campaigns are now underway targeting over 8 million children under 7 years old in Java and Yogyakarta. Authorities have managed to administer a first vaccine dose to 42.6 percent of that figure so far.  

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