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Vaccines Halt Polio Outbreak in Tajikistan
FrontLines - July 2010
By Virginija Morgan
After an outbreak of more
than 413 cases of polio in Tajikistan,
1,000 teams of doctors and
nurses working under a USAID
grant and the Tajikistan Ministry
of Health have stopped the
spread of the disease nearly
three months after the first cases
were registered.
Largely wiped out around the
world since the discovery of the
polio vaccine in the 1950s, the
virus remains in a few remote
regions of the world. International
health officials, donors
such as USAID, and local governments
move swiftly once outbreaks
are identified—including
in Tajikistan.
By June 21, new infections
had stopped.
In April, the World Health
Organization (WHO) confirmed
seven children in Tajikistan had
contracted polio. Over the next
three months, 413 cases were confirmed,
signaling the largest polio
outbreak in the world since 2004
and outstripping traditional polio
hotspots like India and Nigeria.
It was the first time such an
outbreak had occurred in the
Central Asian region since 2002.
And, by mid-July, WHO
reported nearly 700 cases of
acute flaccid paralysis, a type of
paralysis that is often caused by
polio, in Tajikistan. Emerging
cases of the paralysis usually
signal the beginning of a polio
outbreak.
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A mark is placed on a child’s hand to show that he has received a round of polio vaccine.
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Tajikistan was certified as
polio free in 2002 a result of a
vigorous effort over several
years by many donors, including
USAID. Since then, country
health officials conducted annual
immunizations to ensure that the
country remained polio free.
“Certainly, there were children
who missed the opportunity to be
vaccinated due to migration from
Tajikistan and inside of the country,”
said Tajik Deputy Health
Minister Aazam Mirzoyev during
a press interview in May. “Some
of them have not been vaccinated
year after year. They have a role
in the outbreak, because they do
not have a shield against the
disease.”
USAID has pledged $3 million
for renewed efforts with
WHO, UNICEF, regional ministries
of health, the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention,
and other organizations
to
carry out vaccination
campaigns,
surveillance,
and
community
mobilization
throughout
Central Asia.
The Ministry
of Health
mobilized doctors
and nurses
to carry out
vaccinations
throughout the
country. In
addition, officials
kicked off
a massive communications
campaign to inform
the public about polio
immunization.
In addition to vaccinations,
millions of leaflets, posters, and
banners in Tajik, Uzbek, Russian,
and Dari were distributed in
health centers, schools, kindergartens,
markets, and mosques. Doctors
and nurses visited homes in
rural areas, encouraging parents
and caregivers to ensure that all children are vaccinated in every
round to build up immunity.
“We are thankful to our international
partners for their support
of the polio immunization drive
in Tajikistan,” Dr. Mirzoyev said.
Polio is a highly infectious
viral disease that invades the nervous
system. It can cause paralysis—
one in 200 cases leads to
irreversible paralysis, usually in
the legs—and even death. The
disease mainly affects children
under age 5. The only way to prevent
polio is through vaccination.
As of June 21, the immunization
campaign was drawing to a
close, and no new polio cases
had been reported. Both the
health specialists and the donor
community are hopeful the outbreak
has died out.
“Now that the outbreak has
been stopped, it is important that
we work together with the Ministry
of Health of Tajikistan to
strengthen the national health
system, disease surveillance, and
sanitation systems so that polio
does not reemerge again,” said
Bryn Sakagawa, deputy director
of the Health and Education
Office at USAID’s Central Asia
regional office. .
★
FrontLines is published
by the Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs
U.S. Agency for International Development
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