Nigerian polio epidemic spreading - Page 1

Site Notices

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Nigerian polio epidemic spreading

Posted: 5/3/2005 5:04:02 PM EDT

news.yahoo.com/s/ap/indonesia_polio&printer=1

Indonesian Polio Strain Raises Concerns

By MICHAEL CASEY, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 36 minutes ago

A strain of polio circulating in parts of Africa appears almost identical to one that has reached Indonesia, raising the prospect that a migrant worker may have brought it back to the Asian nation, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.

An 18-month-old girl in the West Java village of Girijaya was diagnosed with polio on April 21, becoming the first Indonesian to contract the disease since 1995. Another seven children in her village have become paralyzed and are being treated as polio cases pending confirmation by test results. Experts believe the cases all have the same source.

Authorities say the strain is genetically similar to one in Nigeria, where the disease spread rapidly after Muslims boycotted the vaccine in 2003 amid rumors of a U.S.-led plot to render them infertile or infect them with AIDS. Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation.

Since the boycott, the virus has broken across Nigeria's borders and six months ago sparked an outbreak in west and central African countries.

The genetic tests tracing the Indonesian case to Nigeria is somewhat of a relief, WHO says.

"It validates that it's an import and not a virus that has been lurking around Indonesia for 10 years and we haven't caught," said Sona Bari, a WHO spokeswoman for the polio eradication program. "In that sense, it's a good thing, but what's not a good thing is seeing the results of the outbreak in 2003-2004 now heading out to Indonesia."

The case has prompted Indonesian health authorities to conduct house-to-house vaccinations in the area, intensify surveillance and draw up plans to vaccinate 5.2 million children under age 5 by July - the standard strategy for heading off outbreaks.

Health officials are more worried about a recent cluster of cases in Yemen than about the cases in Indonesia, Bari added.

Only 69 percent of Yemen's children are vaccinated against polio and - located just across the Red Sea from Sudan - the country is close to the epicenter of the African outbreak.

Although Yemen had been polio-free since 1996, that proximity prompted authorities to launch a vaccine campaign last month to boost protection of its children.

However, less than a week after the first phase of the campaign was completed, four cases were confirmed in Yemen on April 20. Eighteen more cases have been confirmed in the last week, bringing the total there to 22. WHO expects more cases to emerge in the coming weeks.

The Yemen strain has been genetically traced to Nigeria.

Global eradication efforts have reduced the number of polio cases from 350,000 a year in 1988 to 1,267 cases last year.

The disease is still endemic in six countries: Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Niger, Afghanistan and Egypt. Transmission of the polio virus has been re-established in another six countries, sparking a regional epidemic in Ivory Coast, Chad, Central African Republic, Mali. Burkina Faso, Sudan.

Posted: 5/3/2005 5:05:04 PM EDT

[#1]

Polio. Dear God.
Authorities say the strain is genetically similar to one in Nigeria, where the disease spread rapidly after Muslims boycotted the vaccine in 2003 amid rumors of a U.S.-led plot to render them infertile or infect them with AIDS. Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation.

You backward ass motherfuckers. Darwin in action right before our eyes.

Posted: 5/3/2005 5:05:59 PM EDT

[#2]

Posted: 5/3/2005 5:09:32 PM EDT

[#3]

Quoted:
Polio. Dear God.

No, insh'Allah. Note the red parts.

Posted: 5/3/2005 5:10:07 PM EDT

[#4]

Quoted:
Polio. Dear God.
Authorities say the strain is genetically similar to one in Nigeria, where the disease spread rapidly after Muslims boycotted the vaccine in 2003 amid rumors of a U.S.-led plot to render them infertile or infect them with AIDS. Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation.

You backward ass motherfuckers. Darwin in action right before our eyes.

+1

Posted: 5/3/2005 5:13:29 PM EDT

[#5]

No excuse for polio today. Even stupidity like that demonstrated by the Islamic conspirarists has backfired. Opps.

Posted: 5/3/2005 5:17:20 PM EDT

[#6]

You didnt get this in an e-mail did you?

Posted: 5/3/2005 5:27:38 PM EDT

[#7]

My Grandmother had polio, it is not something I would wish upon anyone.

Posted: 5/3/2005 5:35:09 PM EDT

[#8]

Nigeria = asshole of the world

Posted: 5/3/2005 7:30:33 PM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:
You didnt get this in an e-mail did you?

Hmm? You mean the original article? It's in Yahoo news today.

I changed the title, as it seems to be more relevant to the story than the title they used. Also, I wanted to emphasise the problem as being Nigeria's Islamic loonies rejecting vaccination due to the vast American conspiracy to sterilize and impurify their bodily fluids. So, thanks to the Nigerian Islamic loonies, Indonesia and Yemen both have outbreaks now.

I feel somewhat concerned about this in Taiwan, because (unless they've dropped off the list recently and I missed it) Nigeria is one of the half-dozen countries that still recognize and maintain ties with Taiwan. There are a lot of Nigerians running around town (well, "a lot" considering how few furriners there are here, period), and I would hate to see a polio outbreak here. But that's a separate, secondary issue compared to the existing outbreaks and spread.

Posted: 5/3/2005 7:34:07 PM EDT

[#10]

Serves those 419er bastards right.

Hope they get a handle on this one. I'd hate to have to innoculate a couple more generations of Americans. Specially since we don't have the stock for it.

Posted: 5/3/2005 7:44:47 PM EDT

[#11]

Indonesia is just one long airplane trip away.

The asshats in my wife's office that travel to Taiwan are bringing back some sort of respiratory crap on every trip, infecting half the office and their families.

Posted: 5/3/2005 7:45:44 PM EDT

[#12]

Quoted:

Nigeria = asshole of the world

Hey, the upper class folks there are quite nice!

I know two who were taught at international schools and now attend University in the states... very classy, down to earth girls.

Now, the dude I know from Liberia, on the other hand, can choke. Primative little shit tried to punch one of the Nigerian girls in the face... and that don't fly in my book. She's an absolute sweetheart.

Anyhoo, as long as polio is contained in the RoP world, I'm not losing any sleep. Karma's a bitch.

- BG

Posted: 5/3/2005 7:49:54 PM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:
Indonesia is just one long airplane trip away.

The asshats in my wife's office that travel to Taiwan are bringing back some sort of respiratory crap on every trip, infecting half the office and their families.

Yeah, tell me about it. I'm just getting over it. Fortunately never got bad enough to have to go in to the hospital; I think they would've deported me if I'd tried.

Posted: 5/3/2005 8:02:50 PM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:
...in Nigeria, where the disease spread rapidly after Muslims boycotted the vaccine in 2003 amid rumors of a U.S.-led plot to render them infertile or infect them with AIDS.

Holy buckets what a bunch if fucking MORONS!

The IQ of Nigeria's population has been measured to be a retarded "67".

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) American Psychiatric Association, 1994
IQ range 50-55 to approx. 70 = Mild Mental Retardation

Why the fuck do we even bother letting these retards try to govern themselves like a civilized society? That's like putting a bunch of fetal-alcohol kids in charge of a nuclear submarine! Are we REALLY doing them any good by pretending they can live in anything other than primative, disease-ridden squalor? Who are we trying to kid here? They can't live in anything remotely resembling a "modern" society (i.e., medical care, electricity, the wheel... etc.) and they prove it time and time again!

I think we either should completely take control and reinstall colonial rule again - or just cut them loose and let nature take its course over there.

But this is just absurd.

Posted: 5/3/2005 8:13:11 PM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:
Quoted:
...in Nigeria, where the disease spread rapidly after Muslims boycotted the vaccine in 2003 amid rumors of a U.S.-led plot to render them infertile or infect them with AIDS.

Holy buckets what a bunch if fucking MORONS!

The IQ of Nigeria's population has been measured to be a retarded "67".

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) American Psychiatric Association, 1994
IQ range 50-55 to approx. 70 = Mild Mental Retardation

Why the fuck do we even bother letting these retards try to govern themselves like a civilized society? That's like putting a bunch of fetal-alcohol kids in charge of a nuclear submarine! Are we REALLY doing them any good by pretending they can live in anything other than primative, disease-ridden squalor? Who are we trying to kid here? They can't live in anything remotely resembling a "modern" society (i.e., medical care, electricity, the wheel... etc.) and they prove it time and time again!

I think we either should completely take control and reinstall colonial rule again - or just cut them loose and let nature take its course over there.

But this is just absurd.

Colonies were formed for a variety of reasons, politically incorrect or not, but believe me... "helping" the natives was not one of them for any extended period. The "civilize them" attitude did not last long.

I suggest cutting off all aid to Africa... it is only lining corrupt pockets anyway.

- BG

Posted: 5/3/2005 11:17:30 PM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:
Quoted:
...in Nigeria, where the disease spread rapidly after Muslims boycotted the vaccine in 2003 amid rumors of a U.S.-led plot to render them infertile or infect them with AIDS.

Holy buckets what a bunch if fucking MORONS!

Why the fuck do we even bother letting these retards try to govern themselves like a civilized society? That's like putting a bunch of fetal-alcohol kids in charge of a nuclear submarine! Are we REALLY doing them any good by pretending they can live in anything other than primative, disease-ridden squalor? Who are we trying to kid here? They can't live in anything remotely resembling a "modern" society (i.e., medical care, electricity, the wheel... etc.) and they prove it time and time again!

I think we either should completely take control and reinstall colonial rule again - or just cut them loose and let nature take its course over there.

But this is just absurd.

Yeah, well, they said the same thing about Somalia, and look at how well that turned out.

Oh. Wait. Never mind.

Posted: 5/4/2005 6:49:51 AM EDT

[#17]

bomp for de day krewe

Posted: 5/4/2005 7:01:35 AM EDT

[#18]

I say we seal the damn place off and let it "burn" Hot Zone Style.

Posted: 5/4/2005 7:04:16 AM EDT

[#19]

I really hope they beat this "polio" thing so they can ALL spam my Hotmail account.

Posted: 5/5/2005 4:10:59 PM EDT

[#20]

A bit of an update; this time the press seems to have seen it more from the same angle that I do.
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050504/ap_on_re_eu/polio_spreads&printer=1

Polio Spreads From Nigeria After Claims

By DANIEL BALINT-KURTI, Associated Press Writer
Wed May 4, 6:23 PM ET

Nearly two years after radical Islamic preachers told parents to refuse to have their children vaccinated against polio for fear it was part of a U.S. plot against Muslims, the repercussions are still being felt: A Nigerian strain of the virus that causes the crippling disease has cropped up as far away as Indonesia.

The U.N. health agency says the world still has a chance to meet a deadline to stamp out polio by year's end, but other experts are pessimistic.

In Kano, northern Nigeria's largest city, many residents still refuse to have their children vaccinated, not just against polio but against other childhood diseases such as measles.

"They said the vaccines will endanger our daughters. Now they think otherwise. I am yet to be convinced," said 37-year-old father of four Mustafa Balarabe. He said his children wouldn't be vaccinated, citing "the general Western plot against Muslims worldwide."

An imam in Kano, 50-year-old Ibrahim Abubakar, was unapologetic.

"The boycott of the polio vaccine in Kano was necessary to fulfill the religious injunction, which tells us to find out about a thing when we have doubts," he said.

"I do not agree that we exported polio to any country. If these countries were carrying out vaccinations ... they should not have had any cases."

This week, Indonesia said polio had re-emerged in the country for the first time in a decade and scientists say the strain most probably came from Nigeria.

Fifteen other countries where polio had been eradicated have been re-infected from Nigeria since 2003, when northern Islamic leaders led a vaccine boycott, claiming the immunization campaigns were part of a U.S. plot to infect Muslims with AIDS or render them infertile. American officials have repeatedly said there is nothing to the allegations

Regional governors blocked U.N.-backed vaccination drives for several months, until they were satisfied in May 2004 by the purity of a vaccine, imported, ironically, from Indonesia. The preachers said supplies from a Muslim country could be trusted.

Since immunization restarted in July in Nigeria, polio has been retreating rapidly. Nigeria has seen 54 cases this year, down 40 percent from 94 a year ago, but it still accounts for close to half of cases worldwide.

While some officials with the U.N. World Health Organization say its $4 billion campaign to wipe out polio worldwide by 2005 is still on track, others are skeptical.

"I think there's a very high risk that we'll continue to have cases in 2006, especially in Nigeria and a few other African countries," said Robert Keegan of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, which is a partner in the anti-polio campaign.

"We are cautiously optimistic that transmission can be stopped in 2006," he added.

Keegan said Nigeria poses the most serious risk, with its population of around 130 million, many of whom travel widely.

Since 2003, the paralyzing, waterborne illness has spread from Nigeria to Sudan, where it has infected 149 people. Along with 10 other west and central African nations, it has also spread to Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia, but vaccination campaigns have averted major outbreaks in those countries.

The spread of the disease to Yemen last month, however, has been labeled by WHO as "a major epidemic," with 22 cases confirmed in a country that had previously been considered free of polio.

Bruce Aylward, coordinator of the WHO's Global Polio Eradication Program, sees many reasons to be optimistic over the fight against polio in Nigeria.

"What's happening there, to be honest, is close to extraordinary," he said by telephone during a visit to India, one of six countries in the world where polio is still endemic.

"Here's a program that had virtually ground to a halt for around 12 months, but the leadership in the north of the country as well as in the south have responded very rapidly."

The vaccination campaigns that restarted in 2004 "began to have a bite very quickly," he said, with cases dropping rapidly even during the typical peak polio season running from November to July.

Key to this has been the support of local political, traditional and religious leaders in backing the campaign, particularly in visiting villages ahead of regular vaccination drives to persuade people of the vaccines' safety.

However, so far this year, an estimated one-fifth of all Nigerian children aged 1 to 5 targeted by the campaign have not been immunized. Although the World Health Organization says only a small proportion of this is due to continued opposition to the vaccine, it declined to give out its data.

Aylward said that while the polio campaign looked like it was on-track in five of the six endemic nations - India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt and Niger - the situation was far more uncertain in the sixth, Yemen.

Two danger countries are Sudan and Ivory Coast, where civil war and unrest have often prevented vaccination campaigns.

Polio spread from Sudan to Ethiopia this year, reappearing in border areas after four years of absence. Aylward said "the risk of explosion is very high" in Ethiopia, where the country's vast size and mountainous terrain would make a nationwide vaccination campaign difficult.

The other risk, Aylward said, is Congo, the war-beset nation bordering Sudan to the west.

These countries had already been rid of polio under previous immunization campaigns. If polio spread there "we could get into trouble and have a serious delay," Aylward said.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Nigerian polio epidemic spreading

General » General Discussion

Warning

Confirm Action

About AR15.COM

Stay Connected

Newsletter

Contact Us