North Sumatra has fastest polio infection rate: WHO

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

The World Health Organization (WHO) found that North Sumatra has the fastest polio infection rate in Indonesia, with three new cases being found since the second round of the national immunization campaign (PIN) on Sept. 27.

A WHO consultant, David Bassett, said the latest polio case in the province was discovered in Labuhan Batu regency on Oct. 16.

He said North Sumatra had recorded three polio cases in October -- after the second round of immunization campaign -- and that the number of polio cases recorded was very high compared to other provinces. This needed urgent attention as children were now at great risk of contracting the disease, said Bassett.

Bassett said that WHO, together with the Ministry of Health, was now concentrating on polio eradication in North Sumatra as the highest rate of infection had been recorded in this province.

According to Bassett, the four areas of the province with the highest risk of infection are Binjai and Pematang Siantar municipalities, and Dairi and Samosir regencies.

The four areas were remote areas where medical services were lacking. A large number of children in these four areas needed to be immunized during the next round of the immunization campaign. If not, many of them would contract polio, said Bassett.

A official from the Ministry of Health, Asmaniar, said that the third round of immunization campaign would be held on Nov. 30. Thousands of health workers and volunteers would provide polio immunization drops to children in North Sumatra, especially in high risk areas prone to the disease.

In quantitative terms, the number of sufferers in North Sumatra is still lower than in other provinces in Indonesia, such as Banten. However, North Sumatra has seen an increase in the number of polio cases following the second round of immunization.

"The number of children suffering from polio in the nine months up to Nov. 17 stood at 295 in 10 provinces, namely, Banten, Jakarta, West Java, East Java, Central Java, Lampung, North Sumatra, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, Riau and South Sumatra. "Banten is where most of the cases are, with a total of 160 cases, while North Sumatra is where many cases have been found after the second immunization round," said Asmaniar.

He urged parents to bring their children to be immunized during the third round of immunization on Nov. 30.

Deputy director of the North Sumatra Health Office, Syaiful Munawar Sitompul, said that his office would set up 17,000 immunization posts throughout the province, including in bus stations, ferry terminals and airports.