Region watches closely Indonesia's anti-polio campaign

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

With 225 children infected by polio and rising concerns in neighboring countries over the spread of the virus in neighboring countries, experts say that it will require a tremendous response from Indonesia to curb the polio outbreak.

Hamid Jafari, director of the global immunization division of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Wednesday that the spread of the virus in the country was an international concern given the vast archipelago, the looming wet season and the health problems caused by the tsunami.

"This requires a tremendous response, not only from the government of Indonesia, but from every citizen, every civil society organization. It has to be a national movement, with a community concept. Because if your neighbors are not protected, then you're not protected," he told a media conference here.

Meanwhile, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) polio eradication representative, David Heymann, urged the central government to strengthen coordination with local regional administrations in curbing polio.

He pointed to China as an example which faced difficulties in coordinating with regional governments during the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak two years ago.

He added that leaders in Asia were watching Indonesia as they see an outbreak which is still increasing here in Indonesia.

"The director general of WHO has had phone calls from ministers of health from neighboring countries who have expressed concern because in some parts of their countries, they have low protection rates for polio.

"These viruses spread very easily and there is no reason that these viruses will respect the Indonesian border," Heymann said.

However, a plan to vaccinate 24 million children next week should halt the spread of the virus in this country.

The nationwide vaccination drive will be held on Aug. 30, with a second round on Sept. 27, which involves some 750,000 vaccinators at 245,000 immunization posts and costs around US$23 million.

After having been free of polio since 1995, the water-borne disease where children are at highest risk, returned to Indonesia in May, with the outbreak first hitting villages near Sukabumi, West Java, and spreading to adjacent provinces.

Causing paralysis, muscular atrophy and death, the virus may have returned here via Saudi Arabia, through migrant workers or Muslim pilgrims who may have passed on the virus originating in Nigeria.

There had been an early immunization program in May and June this year, limited to three provinces, since the outbreak, which reached 6.5 million children in May, but only 5.5 million in June due to the rumors about unsafe vaccine following the deaths of three children after receiving it. Later, however, the deaths were attributed to dengue fever, choking and low birth weight.