Europe retains polio-free status

 Posted by on August 29, 2011  No Responses »
Aug 292011
 
Europe retains polio-free status

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that the European Regional Certification Commission for Poliomyelitis Eradication (RCC) has declared Europe remains a polio-free zone, a year after importation of wild poliovirus type 1 in 2010. The transmission of that virus has been stopped due to action undertaken by the affected countries,  through additional immunization activities, often involving nationwide vaccination campaigns. No new cases have been recorded since September 2010. Europe was declared polio-free in 2002 and the imported cases represented the largest outbreak since then. At the RCC meeting, all 53 countries in the WHO European Region, including those affected by the 2010 ———->FULL ARTICLE

Tajikistan Polio Outbreak Update

 Posted by on January 5, 2011  1 Response »
Jan 052011
 

A while back we reported on a polio outbreak in Tajikistan. Five months later, the good news is that it appears that the outbreak is under control, with no new infection cases reported since July 4, 2010, and the country is close to declaring the epidemic over, although immunizations will continue to be dispensed through 2011. The bad news is that the overall burden of the epidemic is worse than it was when we initially reported it. According to data provide by the World Health Organization Epidemiological Brief dated 12-16-2010 Tajikistan has recorded 709 cases of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP), ———->FULL ARTICLE

Big Business donates big bucks to the cause of vaccination

 Posted by on December 29, 2010  No Responses »
Dec 292010
 

As much as one might have philosophical issues with Big Business of any sort, and I do not certainly count myself one of that philosophical inclination, one cannot refuse to acknowledge the following two news items about Google and Walgreens putting huge amounts of cash on the line to help with vaccination efforts. The first one is about Google donating $4 million in the fight against polio. The funds go towards UNICEFs efforts at polio eradication; because of recent polio outbreaks in Tajikistan and Africa, polio vaccine supplies have run very low, and UNICEF is in need of about $14 ———->FULL ARTICLE

Polio death toll in Congo surpasses 200

 Posted by on December 17, 2010  No Responses »
Dec 172010
 

The death toll from the polio outbreak in Congo has surpassed 200, according to the UNICEF. When I last reported on this outbreak, a little over a month ago, the death toll was a little under 100, and it has doubled in a little over a month. A three-round emergency immunization campaign was launched in the wake of the outbreak. This week marks the end of the second wave of the campaign with thousands of health workers and volunteers working hard to vaccinate the entire population, regardless of gender, age or past immunization status. Most of the victims so far ———->FULL ARTICLE

Some celebrities get science and reason

 Posted by on December 14, 2010  No Responses »
Dec 142010
 

While we bemoan the lack of critical thinking displayed by our celebrities (McCarthy and vaccines, Shaq and PowerBalance rubber bands, Oprah and, well everything) Amitabh Bachchan, a huge Bollywood star, has writen an article for The Times of India, about the polio eradication efforts in India, and he displays the kind of understanding of the issue, the dangers of the disease and the benefits of the vaccines, that we can only dream off form some of our celebrities, here in the U.S. In just over half a century, we have made massive progress in protecting our children from polio. It’s ———->FULL ARTICLE

Kenya kicks off large polio vaccination drive

 Posted by on November 27, 2010  No Responses »
Nov 272010
 

READ THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE AT CAPITAL FM KENYA NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 20 – Kenya on Saturday launched polio vaccination campaign in 22 districts considered to be at a high risk of an outbreak. Public Health and Sanitation Minister Beth Mugo called on parents and guardians in the targeted districts to allow health workers to administer the vaccine and also take their children for vaccination. The affected districts are in the Rift Valley, Nyanza and Western Kenya. “We don’t want any children in our country or region to be paralysed because of polio. We urge our neighbours to strengthen their health ———->FULL ARTICLE

New bivalent polio vaccine performs better than trivalent and just as well as monovalent vaccines

 Posted by on October 28, 2010  1 Response »
Oct 282010
 

- A new study, published online at The Lancet shows that the bivalent polio vaccine, which is currently in use in India and Nigeria and offers protection against two of the polio virus strains, type 1 & 3, triggers a stronger immune response than the existing trivalent vaccine and similar immune response to the monovalent vaccines. Immunogenicity of bivalent types 1 and 3 oral poliovirus vaccine: a randomised, double-blind, controlled trial Dr Roland W Sutter MD a , Prof T Jacob John FRCP[E] b, Prof Hemant Jain MD c, Prof Sharad Agarkhedkar MD d, Prof Padmasini Venkat Ramanan MD e, Harish Verma ———->FULL ARTICLE