The current outbreak in Africa is directly traceable to a decision by religious extremists in northern Nigeria to suspended polio vaccinations in 2003.

Shortly after that decision, polio cases in Nigeria began to spike. That was soon followed by cases popping up in nearby countries including Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Ivory Coast, and Sudan. All five of those countries had been free of polio until 2003. Along with Nigeria, polio still persisted prior to 2003 in Egypt and Niger.

Polio has since spread to an additional seven African countries that had been free of polio, and the disease could spread further.

Admittedly the number of cases is still very small — Nigeria reported the most cases in Africa in 2004 at 763, but the outbreak of cases in previously polio-free countries is jacking up the costs of immunization. According to Dr. David Heymann, who heads up WHO’s polio eradication program, the resurgence of cases in polio-free countries will add at least $150 million to immunization efforts on the continent.

Source:

Health Officials Say They’ll End Polio In Africa, Despite Its Spread. Lawrence Altman, The New York Times, January 16, 2005.

Will Polio Ever Be Eradicated? is a post from: Overpopulation.Com

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The goal is to eradicate polio from India by the end of 2005.

So far this year, India has reported 85 cases of polio, the lowest number ever since polio statistics have been recorded. In 1994, when efforts to eradicate polio from India began in earnest, there were 4,791 cases reported.

Deepak Kapoor, chairman of Rotary International in India which has played an important role in polio eradication in India and other parts of the world, told New Kerala,

If polio can be completely wiped off by next year, it would be a great victory, not just for India, but for the international community as a whole. It would induce a renewed confidence in our efforts against other diseases such as malaria and AIDS.

Unfortunately, eradicating polio in Africa might prove a bigger challenge. Planned vaccinations in Ivory Coast, for example, had to be canceled due to the unstable political and military situation in that country.

Sources:

India starts ‘final’ anti-polio push. Ania Lichtarowicz, The BBC, November 21, 2004.

India inches closer to eradicating polio. New Kerala, November 21, 2004.

UN giving kids in India polio shots. United Press International, November 21, 2004.

More than 170 Million Indian Children Receive Polio Vaccination is a post from: Overpopulation.Com

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The ban on vaccinations saw a marked increase in polio cases in Nigeria which quickly spread to neighboring countries, including several that had previously been declared polio-free by the World Health Organization.

Nigeria has reported 430 cases of polio since the beginning of the year, accounting for almost 90 percent of cases worldwide. Ten other sub-Saharan countries have also reported cases of polio this year, compared to just two last year.

Source:

Nigerian state revokes ban on polio vaccine. Associated Press, July 20, 2004.

Islamic Nigerian state ends ban on polio vaccinations. Associated Press, August 1, 2004.

Nigeria to Resume Polio Vaccination is a post from: Overpopulation.Com

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Kano officials suspended polio vaccination efforts in 2003 over concerns that the vaccine was a plot against Nigerian Muslims.

Now, 20-30 suspected cases of polio have been reported in the town of Rogo. Meanwhile polio cases also appear to be spreading out from Nigeria into surrounding African nations — a total of 10 African countries that had been certified polio-free have reported at least 1 case of polio in the last 12 months.

All of the latest and best medicine available is still of little avail when met with irrationality and unreason.

Source:

WHO investigates suspected polio outbreak in Kano. United Nations Integrated Regional Information Networks, July 6, 2004.

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Polio cases were discovered in both Benin and Cameroon in early January, apparently having spread from Nigeria. Nigeria still experiences about 300 cases of polio annually and Muslim leaders in northern Nigeria have led a local fight against the polio vaccine saying it contains hormones that are used to sterilize girls.

Sources:

West Africa Polio Cases a Setback for WHO’s Eradication Plan. UN Wire, January 12, 2004.

UN says polio is spreading to countries where it had been eradicated. Press Release, United Nations, January 9, 2004.

WHO Reports Polio Setback is a post from: Overpopulation.Com

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The largely-Muslim northern states of Kaduna, Kano and Zamfra ordered a stop to a WHO-sponsored vaccination program. Reuters quoted Dr. Datti Ahmed, president of Nigeria’s Supreme Council for Sharia Law, as saying,

A lot of documents have come into our possession indicating there are grave doubts and concerns about the safety of the oral polio vaccine being used in Nigeria. We therefore called on the authorities to suspend the immunization program and investigate these fears.

WHO representatives dismissed such objections saying the polio vaccine was safe.

Unfortunately, Nigeria is one of only 7 countries where the disease is still prevalent and many children there are not vaccinated. Authorities worry that the disease could expand from Nigeria into surrounding countries. According to WHO representative Dr. David Heymann,

In some parts of Nigeria, only 13 percent of children have been vaccinated, largely because of the fears about it that have been disseminated. Nigeria is now exporting the disease. It has already cost Nigeria’s five neighbors $13 million to launch their own campaigns against it and that could go up to $20 million if it is confirmed that Chad has cases.

The government set up a group to test the polio virus, but that group dealt another setback to the polio eradication in January when it issued results claiming it found high levels of estrogen in the polio vaccine which would render those who received the vaccine infertile.

Both the WHO and the Nigerian state dismissed these claims, but WHO’s efforts to vaccinate children in Nigeria appears to have been severely set back which bodes ill both for the children there who are unnecessarily exposed to the risk of contracting polio as well as neighboring states and the rest of the world that would like to see polio eradicated.

Source:

Health experts losing battle to promote polio vaccine in Nigeria. AFP, Friday January 9, 2004.

Nigeria orders polio vaccine tests. Associated Press, October 29, 2003.

Nigeria debates polio campaign. Anna Borzello, The BBC, December 22, 2003.

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In a July press release, Lee said,

Polio eradication is a top priority. I want to see this disease gone once and for all. We have eliminated it from almost every country in the world. Now is the time to boost our action and resolve, and wipe it out everywhere. I am immediately upgrading WHOÂ’s capacity to support India, Nigeria, Pakistan and Egypt in their efforts to immunize every child against polio.”

Lee appointed SARS expert David Heymann to head up WHO’s polio eradication efforts who noted the dangers of not eradicating polio as soon as possible,

Just as with SARS, polio knows no boundaries. In January, a child was paralyzed by polio in Lebanon for the first time in ten years. That virus travelled from India. Unless we stop transmission in the remaining polio-endemic countries, polio will spread to other countries and paralyze children, potentially reversing the gains already made.

But the WHO is also begging for money, claiming that it needs an additional $210 million for polio eradication efforts or it might have to scale back its efforts to fight the disease.

In 2002, there were less than 2,000 reported cases of polio worldwide and the disease is only present in seven countries. Lee argues it would be well worth the money to eradicate the disease worldwide once and for all.

Source:

WHO faces $210M shortfall in polio fight. Jonathan Fowler, Associated Press, July 29, 2003.

WHO steps up polio fight. The BBC, July 29, 2003.

New WHO Director-General steps up global polio eradication effort, as polio threatens other countries. Press Release, World Health Organization, July 29, 2003.

World Health Organization seeks eradication of polio by 2005. Lawrence K. Altman, New York Times, July 29, 2003.

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In 2001 there were only 483 confirmed cases of polio which shot up to 1,920 confirmed cases in polio after an outbreak in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. That was the single worst outbreak of the disease since the World Health Organization began its campaign to eradicate polio in 1988. Cases from the Indian outbreak constituted 71 percent of all polio cases in 2002.

Afghanistan, Egypt, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Somalia also reported cases of polio in 2002.

Source:

Polio cases on the increase. The BBC, April 25, 2003.

Polio Cases Increase Thanks Largely to Indian Outbreak is a post from: Overpopulation.Com

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In 2002 India reported more than 1,500 new cases of the disease — easily the largest outbreak of the disease in decades. WHO had set a goal of eradicating polio by 2002, but now hopes to declare the planet free of polio by 2005.

Unfortunately, the BBC reports that the polio eradication effort faces a $275 million shortfall that could limit its immunization efforts.

Source:

UN targets polio in India. Emma Jane Kirby, The BBC, February 5, 2003.

WHO to Launch Intensive Polio Immunization Effort in India is a post from: Overpopulation.Com

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McDonald’s has an agreement with Unicef in which the international chain restaurant will distribute millions of orange boxes which children in the United States have used the past few years to raise money for UNICEF’s fight against polio. According to UNICEF’s Soraya Bermejo,

Obviously, the extra boxes will greatly increase the funds raised on behalf of children in need around the world. Like all similar Unicef activities, this one will be reviewed once we have allowed it to run its full course.

That’s not enough for activists with the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action which penned a letter to UNICEF complaining that UNICEF had,

. . . entered into a partnership with a company known worldwide for its aggressive promotion of foods that contribute to ill health and poor nutrition both in industrialized and non-industrialized countries.

Ah yes . . . the fight against polio is far less important than striking a pose against an evil corporation like McDonald’s.

Source:

Unicef comes under attack for Big Mac funding deal. Owen Dyer, British Medical Journal, 26 October 2002, p.923.

Activists Who Hate McDonald’s More Than Polio is a post from: Overpopulation.Com

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