The World Health Organization (WHO) sent technical experts to the central Asian country of Tajikistan to investigate an outbreak of seven cases of polio. According to a press release on the Voice of America website, this is the first importation of polio in the European region since Europe was certified as polio-free in 2002.
WHO Spokeswoman for the Polio Eradication Initiative, Sona Bari, said the technical experts will carry out a detailed investigation of the seven cases of polio to determine the country from where the virus was imported and what actions need to be taken to prevent its further spread.
This is a setback for WHO’s polio eradication campaign, Bari said, and a sober reminder of the need to vaccinate children against this crippling disease. “Planning is already going on for three large-scale vaccination campaigns,” Bari said. “There are about 864,000 children under the age of five that we will reach with this vaccine. And, surrounding countries, particularly Uzbekistan and Kyrgyztan, are being asked to step up their surveillance for acute flaccid paralysis, which is a sign of polio and to look into their immunization rates to make sure that children are adequately protected in those surrounding areas.”
Complicating the issue, Bari said, is the cost of an immunization campaign. Rotary International has donated $500,000, but Bari said additional funding will be needed to buy the vaccines and carry out the campaigns.
Tajikistan is close to two polio endemic countries-Afghanistan and Pakistan-but Bari said it is premature to identify one of these countries as the source of the virus until genetic sequencing of the virus is completed.
