The World Health Organization has slapped travel restrictions on Pakistan, Cameroon and Syria in an effort to control the spread of the crippling polio virus. Pakistan is moving quickly to make polio vaccines mandatory for all those planning to travel out of the country.
WHO says those three nations should ensure all residents and long-term visitors get a polio vaccination prior to international travel.
WHO’s Assistant Director General Bruce Aylward said the polio virus had been found widely circulating in other countries in 2013.
Pakistan has the highest incidence of polio in the world, and the virus has been found in sewage water in Israel, Egypt and West Bank-Gaza, as well as in Iraq and Syria.
Immunization plan
Pakistan Minister of National Health Services Saira Afzal Tarar told VOA the government is putting an immunization plan in place.
“We are concerned about our international responsibility regarding the spread of polio, and we were already considering, along with our provincial governments, that we should make sure that all Pakistanis, before leaving Pakistan, should have these polio drops,” said Tarar.
The WHO is recommending anyone traveling out of Pakistan should be vaccinated four weeks to 12 months prior to travel, and provide proof of inoculation.
Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan are the three remaining countries in which the virus remains endemic.
Because of a Taliban ban on vaccinations, and its deadly attacks on anti-polio health teams, national eradication efforts in Pakistan have suffered critical setbacks, and the virus continues to spread.
Taliban deterrent
Tarar said those areas inaccessible to health workers are the main reservoirs of the polio virus. A heavy Taliban presence has all but denied access to the tribal area of North Waziristan.
Pakistan’s prime minister has asked the country’s military to help protect polio vaccination workers in the insurgency-plagued northwest.
Although not legally binding, the WHO recommendation carries a lot of weight, said the organization's acting representative in Pakistan, Nima Saeed Abid.
“Expectations are many countries will implement, but it depends on the member state to implement," said Abid. "I do not think member states would ignore these recommendations.”
The World Health Organization said the spread of the polio virus is a public health emergency of international concern.
The travel measures announced Monday are expected to remain in place until six months have passed without polio virus exportations.
Monday, May 5, 2014
WHO: Polio Vaccine Mandatory for Departing Pakistanis
The World Health Organization has slapped travel restrictions on Pakistan, Cameroon and Syria in an effort to control the spread of the crippling polio virus. Pakistan is moving quickly to make polio vaccines mandatory for all those planning to travel out of the country.
WHO says those three nations should ensure all residents and long-term visitors get a polio vaccination prior to international travel.
WHO’s Assistant Director General Bruce Aylward said the polio virus had been found widely circulating in other countries in 2013.
Pakistan has the highest incidence of polio in the world, and the virus has been found in sewage water in Israel, Egypt and West Bank-Gaza, as well as in Iraq and Syria.
Immunization plan
Pakistan Minister of National Health Services Saira Afzal Tarar told VOA the government is putting an immunization plan in place.
“We are concerned about our international responsibility regarding the spread of polio, and we were already considering, along with our provincial governments, that we should make sure that all Pakistanis, before leaving Pakistan, should have these polio drops,” said Tarar.
The WHO is recommending anyone traveling out of Pakistan should be vaccinated four weeks to 12 months prior to travel, and provide proof of inoculation.
Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan are the three remaining countries in which the virus remains endemic.
Because of a Taliban ban on vaccinations, and its deadly attacks on anti-polio health teams, national eradication efforts in Pakistan have suffered critical setbacks, and the virus continues to spread.
Taliban deterrent
Tarar said those areas inaccessible to health workers are the main reservoirs of the polio virus. A heavy Taliban presence has all but denied access to the tribal area of North Waziristan.
Pakistan’s prime minister has asked the country’s military to help protect polio vaccination workers in the insurgency-plagued northwest.
Although not legally binding, the WHO recommendation carries a lot of weight, said the organization's acting representative in Pakistan, Nima Saeed Abid.
“Expectations are many countries will implement, but it depends on the member state to implement," said Abid. "I do not think member states would ignore these recommendations.”
The World Health Organization said the spread of the polio virus is a public health emergency of international concern.
The travel measures announced Monday are expected to remain in place until six months have passed without polio virus exportations.
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