Recently in class, we briefly
discussed polio and how difficult it can be to vaccinate against and prevent in
war torn areas, so when I saw this article I thought it would be very fitting.
On October 29, 2013, the UN confirmed a polio outbreak in Syria, which had been
polio free since 1999. The UN reported 10 confirmed cases of wild polio virus
type one and was still investigating another 12 cases that had been reported in
the two weeks prior. Most of the victims were infants and toddlers under the
age of two. It is thought that the disease may have been brought into Syria by
Islamic militants from Pakistan, where polio still widely exists.
Syria’s civil war began in 2011 and
before the war about 95% of children were immunized against polio, which is the
rate needed for herd immunity. However, the UN estimates that since the
beginning of the war roughly 500,000 children have not been vaccinated. As of
right now, all cases have occurred in northeastern Syria, near Deir al-Zour. It
is estimated that over 100,000 children in Deir al-Zour alone are at risk of
contracting polio. Currently over 4 million Syrians have been displaced within
Syria and another 2 million have left the country for Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey
and Egypt. As well all know (especially after reading the articles for this
week), communicable diseases, such as polio, can spread vary easily with
population movements. Also what makes the situation dangerous is the fact that
polio targets vulnerable populations. That combined with low immunization rates
and moving refugees, living in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions could explode
into a much larger outbreak, not to mention that added stress of reported
increases in measles, typhoid and hepatitis A. So what are Syria and
neighboring countries doing?
Syria and aid agencies are
increasing their efforts to immunize 2.4 million children and 8 million others against
not only polio but also measles, mumps and rubella. Save the Children called
for vaccination ceasefires so that vaccination campaigns could take place on
both sides of the conflict. Neighboring Lebanon, which is sheltering about 700,000
Syrian refugees, will give the polio vaccine to all children under the age of 5
in the country. However, unless a ceasefire does occur, I think it will be very
difficult for Syria to successfully vaccinate everyone that needs to be
vaccinated. How can a country with so much civil unrest and war even begin to
organize a national effort to prevent polio? And until the conflict in Syria
comes to an end, neighboring countries that are receiving refugees face the
challenge of not only successfully preventing disease outbreaks in refugee
camps, but also stopping the spread of disease to their own citizens. This will
take a continuous effort, because as more refugees come, more vaccinations and
prevention measures will have to take place. I only hope that some solution or
measure of peace is reached before more innocent children die or become
permanently crippled from a 100% preventable disease.
References:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24726592
This NPR article provided some interesting information when it comes to getting aid into Syria. Since the Syria rebels are not technically apart of a sovereign state UN agencies cannot deal with the rebels directly. This means that the UN agencies provide the vaccines to the Syrian government in Damascus. Chances are those vaccines will not make it to the rebels then. So even though Syria has pledge to immunize all those under 5 years old I don’t think it will prevent the spread of Polio since not everyone is getting vaccine, but rather just those that are in areas controlled by the Syrian government. I think to vaccinate children in areas controlled by the rebels an agency independent of the UN will have to go in if a cease-fire cannot be reached. Since the rebels are so close to Turkey I'm inclined to think that an aid effort could come from there.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/12/02/248203614/as-polio-spreads-in-syria-politics-thwarts-vaccination-efforts