WHO cites polio risk as groups seek Syrian 'vaccination ceasefire'
As Syria begins large-scale vaccination efforts to combat polio, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe said in a statement today that the situation increases the risk of international spread of wild poliovirus, and aid groups called for a truce to help stem the disease.
The WHO said the Syrian situation, as well as frequent population movements and vaccination gaps in some European nations, heightens the risk of the disease returning to Europe. The WHO confirmed 10 polio cases in the country on Oct 29.
Syria has launched a campaign to immunize 1.3 million children against polio as well as measles, mumps, and rubella in the civil war–torn nation.
In addition, aid agencies are calling for a "vaccination ceasefire" to help address the situation, the British journal BMJ reported today.
Save the Children said, "Vaccination ceasefires would mean pauses in fighting to allow vaccination campaigns to take place across both sides of the conflict." The group said that similar ceasefires had succeeded in Afghanistan, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
David Milliband, president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee, called for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire to allow access for immunisation campaigns." His organization had vaccines for 300,000 people but needed safe access.
The WHO is coordinating a campaign to provide oral polio vaccine to 2.5 million children under 5 years old in Syria, BMJ reported. In addition, it will provide doses to another 25 million children across western Iraq, southern Turkey, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and Egypt over the next 6 to 8 months.
Before the civil war began in 2011, more than 90% of Syrian children were immunized against polio, the BMJ story said. But in 2012 that figure fell to 68%.
Nov 5 WHO/Europe statement
Nov 5 BMJ news story
Oct 29 CIDRAP News story "Lab tests confirm 10 polio cases in Syria"
WHO confirms H5N1 death in Cambodian 2-year-old
The WHO in a statement today confirmed the recent death from H5N1 avian flu of a 2-year-old Cambodian girl and provided more details than reported yesterday in the media.
Her case marks the country's 23rd this year, including 12 fatal cases, the WHO said, and brings Cambodia's overall H5N1 count to 44 confirmed cases and 31 deaths.
The girl is from Svay Chrum village in the Bakane district of Pursat province. She developed a fever on Oct 17, and her parents sought treatment for her at a local private practitioner on Oct 19. Her condition worsened and she was admitted to a regional hospital in Siem Reap province on Oct 25, where she died the next day.
Laboratory samples were taken on Oct 25, but no oseltamivir (Tamiflu) was administered, the WHO said. Her samples tested positive for H5N1on Oct 30 at Cambodia's Pasteur Institute.
"Avian influenza H5N1 remains a serious threat to the health of all Cambodians and more so for children, who seem to be most vulnerable and are at high risk," said Dr. Mam Bunheng, Cambodia's minister of health, in the WHO statement. Of the 44 confirmed H5N1 cases, 33 have been in children under 14, the WHO said.
Nov 5 WHO statement
