Written by : Fadia Tabib
Translated by : Lina Yahya Raydan
NNA - The Ministry of Public Health, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, completed the necessary preparations to launch a two-phase comprehensive national vaccination campaign against polio.
The first phase of the campaign will take place between 8 and 12 November, 2013 and the second will be between 6 and 10 December, 2013.
Caretaker Health Minister, Ali Hassan Khalil, has informed all ministries and institutions about this campaign to provide all the needed support to protect the Lebanese children and those displaced from Syria regardless of their nationality.
The Minister stated in his letters to the concerned ministries and institutions that some children in Syria, ten of them in Deir El-Zour village, were diagnosed with this disease. Accordingly, a series of vaccination steps against polio were deemed necessary, including the campaign, although the World Health Organization (WHO) attested that Lebanon has been free of polio for more than 12 years, relating that to the fact that the Ministry of Health has -- through the national program of vaccination -- succeeded in preserving Lebanon's advanced position in the fight against polio.
These programs have increased the coverage of polio vaccine to reach about 98% for the first dose given to two-month old infants and 96% for the second dose given for six-month old infants.
Upon the recommendation of the National Committee to fight polio, and given the overcrowded population and continuous displacement that Lebanon has been facing lately-- which might contribute in having the polio virus break through into the country again-- the Ministry of Health organized a door-to-door national campaign on vaccination against polio. This campaign aims to give the vaccine to all children-- Lebanese and non - Lebanese-- whose ages range from one day to five years, regardless of the timing and number of previous doses which they might have taken.
This campaign is organized in cooperation with the Ministries of Social Affairs, Education and Higher Learning, Information, and Interior and Municipalities, in addition to the concerned Private Sector Institutions and the Scientific and Professional Gatherings and with the support of WHO and the UNICEF. The vaccine, which is for free, will be given for children in the mouth.
Pursuant to the call of the Health Minister, Doctors in various Lebanese districts began to contact those responsible at the health centers and briefed them on the details of the campaign, handed them the vaccines and informed them about the mechanism of vaccination, pointing that this should be offered for free; especially in schools, kindergartens and health centers, which will open their doors to all citizens-- regardless of their nationalities-- to protect all children in Lebanon.
Overview of Polio
As part of spreading awareness about Polio, some Medical references explained to the "National News Agency" that Polio is a severe intestinal viral infection which usually children suffer when attacked by polio virus.
The disease spreads quickly among children, especially those less than five years old, through the mouth or stool in toilets-- in particular open sewage places.
The severity of the disease ranges between simple to paralyses in the limbs --in particular the lower part of the body-- which may last for a lifetime.
Polio moves from one person to another quickly and could become a pandemic, which necessitates the isolation of the patient in hospitals and giving him the needed treatment.
The treatment is simple, but it needs a strong will, and it might cause some complications to the patient, including: pneumonia, urinary tract infections and a temporary or permanent disability.
It is to note that Polio infections have receded during the last years due to the vaccination campaigns. However, it still exists in some countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Nigeria.
On the other hand, World Health Organization (WHO) recent reports confirmed the presence of injuries in north-eastern Syria, especially in Deir El-Zour village, in addition to the presence of the virus in Egypt and Palestine in the sewage water.
Vaccination a prevention weapon
Doctors say that vaccination is the main weapon for the prevention of this disease.
Vaccination takes place by giving ineffective viruses to the children which would practically protect them.
It is important to mention that there is no cure for polio --if a child carried it-- but focus is to prevent complications and it requires -- rehabilitation on the long term, including medical shoes and sometimes surgical work.
The vaccine is of two kinds either two drops given in the mouth -- it is better because it protects the person and the environment which he resides-- or through a vaccine shot given for personal protection only.
National campaigns usually adopt the two- drop vaccination through the mouth to protect the environment and defend against wild virus.
The vaccine is not given to people who are allergic to it or those who have taken it previously and suffered from allergy; neither is it given to children or people who have fever, nor to patients who have a weak immune system.
Finally, make sure to give your children the vaccine for prevention, which is better than treatment.
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