TEHRAN – The Ministry of Health plans to run the second phase of its polio eradication campaign in the northern half of the country from May 17th to 19th.
The first phase was held from April 12th to 14th. The polio eradication campaign began in the winter, targeting approximately 300,000 children under the age of five, and was vaccinated in two stages in high-risk regions in the northern half of the spring.
Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that has a major impact on children under the age of 5. The virus is spread primarily through oral fecal routes or by common vehicles (such as contaminated water or food), and grows in the intestines that can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis.
It can be prevented through vaccinations. The development of effective vaccines to prevent paralytic polio was one of the major medical breakthroughs of the 20th century. Polio vaccines have been given many times and most often provide lifelong protection for children.
Highly at risk are remote villages, urban suburbs, and refugees living there. According to statistics, approximately 314,00 children under the age of five are vaccinated during the first phase of the campaign, and the same number of children will be vaccinated during the second phase of the supplemental vaccination campaign.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the virus increases primarily through the fecal orifice routes, or from less frequent people in normal vehicles (e.g., contaminated water or food) and intestines that can penetrate the nervous system and cause paralysis.
In the past Iranian calendar year that ended March 20th, the annual domestically-door polio vaccination campaign was carried out in two stages to prevent the outbreak of illness in the southern half of the country, targeting children under the age of five in high-risk regions in the southern part of the country at one month intervals.
The first phase was held from January 4th to 6th, and the second phase began on February 15th and ended on February 17th. During the campaign, approximately 840,000 Iranian and foreign children under the age of five were immunized by the medical colleges of Cistan Balchestan, Kelman, Faazu, Hormozgan, Bushel, Yazdded Cistan Balchestan, Hormozgan and Hormozgan.
Polio vaccinations are given at 2, 4, 6 and 18 months of six months and require supplemental vaccinations at age 6, ISNA reported.
Supplemental vaccination campaigns to eradicate polio in Iran began in 1994. Thanks to the campaign, the country has been polio-free since 2000.
However, endemic transmission of wild polioviruses remains common in two Iranian neighbours, namely Afghanistan and Pakistan. With frequent travel to these countries and the increased migration of Afghans to the country due to recent political changes in Afghanistan, Iran has been exposed to a revival of disease, Borna quoted health ministry official Alileza Leisi, who he said in February.
Furthermore, the fact that in 2024, the number of positive poliovirus tests in the wild in Afghanistan and Pakistan increased four and 12 times, respectively, compared to 2023, indicates that the country is at high risk, Raeisi noted.
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