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Govt ramps up polio jabs after new cases in East, Central Java
Health authorities say plummeting polio immunization rates caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have led to the recently discovered polio cases in Indonesia.
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A child receives a polio vaccine on Aug. 10, 2023, as part of a monthly medical check-up program for children at an integrated services post in Banda Aceh, Aceh. (AFP/Chaideer Mahyuddin)
H
ealth authorities are urging parents across the country to vaccinate their children against polio and live cleaner and healthier lifestyles following the discovery of three cases of the disease in Central and East Java since December.
Three children tested positive with acute flaccid paralysis, Health Ministry disease control and prevention director general Maxi Rein Rondonuwu said in a statement on Friday.
Acute flaccid paralysis is a serious neurological illness normally caused by inflammation of the spinal cord, known as acute flaccid myelitis, according to the United Kingdom Health Security Agency. The disease is commonly caused by the infection of poliovirus or other viruses.
The first case, discovered in Central Java on Dec. 6, was a 6-year-old girl who had been paralyzed since November. According to the ministry, she had only received two doses of the four-dose oral polio vaccine.
The second case was discovered in East Java, afflicting a fully vaccinated two-year-old boy who was suffering from malnutrition. The third was also discovered in the province in January and had been paralyzed since December after not completing the two-dose injected inactivated polio vaccine (IPV).
Laboratory test results later confirmed that all three children had been infected by type 2 poliovirus.
Read also: Govt kicks off child immunization catch-up campaign
