8 million children vaccinated against polio

Dr. Suraya Dalil, Afghanistan's Minister of Public Health

A three-day nationwide wide campaign to vaccinate around 8 million children against polio in Afghanistan recently concluded. The campaign, which was led by Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health, had started on September 16th and included 55,000 service provides, as well as 40 volunteers who went door-to-door to administer the anti-polio vaccines to children under 5 years of age. Traveling children at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border points were also given the vaccines. Polio which is short for poliomyelitis, is a highly infectious disease that affects the nervous system and can lead to partial or full paralysis. While the disease has been virtually eliminated in most of the world, it is still prevalent in Afghanistan. According to Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health, 17 cases of polio were reported in Afghanistan this year. On top of the vaccines, children from 2 to 5 years of age were also given de-worming tablets to help reduce the number of worm infestations, which is also another health issue affecting children in Afghanistan.

September 23, 2012 В· admin В· No Comments
Posted in: Health News

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