The Fight Against Polio Intensifies
Posted by Ian Simpson
on Sep 23, 2013
Source: RI Regional Information Bulletin, August 2013
There are more cases of polio this year-to-date than there were last year-to-date, but this is entirely due to an outbreak in the Horn of Africa, an area previously polio free.
As at August 7th, there were only 67 cases in endemic countries (106 last year) but cases in non-endemic countries have risen to 110 from a zero figure last year.
Details of recent polio cases:
| Country | 2013 (7 Aug 2013) | 2012 (8 Aug 2012) |
| Pakistan | 21 | 23 |
| Afghanistan | 3 | 13 |
| Nigeria | 42 | 62 |
| Somalia | 100 | 0 |
| Kenya | 10 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 177 | 111 |
As was proved in Tajikistan three years ago, outbreaks of this nature are brought under control quickly with vaccination programs and the main emphasis still rests with the endemic countries where success is slowly being achieved.
The good news is that the last case of polio paralysis in Afghanistan was on June 6th, more than two months ago.
Pakistan is also looking good with the last case there being July 3rd. Nigeria is still a key prevalent area but the last case was July 14th and they are still below the YTD figure of last year.