WHO reports four new polio cases in Indonesia
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A week after a mass polio immunization program, Indonesia saw four more polio cases, bringing the total number to 20, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Tuesday.
An officer from the Ministry of Health confirmed the report, explaining that the newly confirmed cases were suspected cases that had been waiting for laboratory test results.
"One of the confirmed case is from Sukabumi and three others are from Lebak," Ministry of Health's directorate general of contagious disease control officer Moh. Nadhirin told The Jakarta Post.
Nadhirin added that the ministry was still waiting for results of nine stool samples of acute flaccid paralysis cases from Sukabumi, 31 from Lebak and 14 from Bogor.
Triggered by findings of polio cases in March, the ministry supported by WHO and the United Nations Children's Fund conducted a mass polio vaccination drive in Banten, Jakarta and West Java provinces to protect an estimated 6.4 million children late last month.
The immunization drive has reportedly protected more than 90 percent of the targeted children under the age of five from the waterborne disease.
There were several reports of contraindications causing fever and diarrhea in children after being vaccinated and a committee were conducting further investigation.
A second vaccination program is set for June 28 in the same three provinces.
Indonesia is witnessing the current polio outbreak after having been free of the disease for 10 years. Laboratory results showed that the virus type found in the new outbreak matched that of the latest outbreak in Saudi Arabia.
The viral disease known as poliomyelitis is highly infectious and can cause total paralysis and even death. The virus enters the body through the mouth and multiplies in the intestines, which is why oral vaccination is preferred.
Transmission of the virus by immune and partially immune adults and children is possible, and is likely to happen in countries where sanitation systems are substandard.