Sindh registered two new cases of polio on Thursday, when three-year-old Sadaf and four-year-old Bilal, children of Nadir Ali Basti, were diagnosed with the virus at Guddu town on Thursday. Basti alleged that his children caught the disease as a reaction to the polio vaccine administered to them and demanded the government probe the matter and take action against the culprits.
The diagnosis for the Kashmore children comes barely a day after the Pakistan Pediatric Association held a press conference to clarify allegations made against polio vaccines.
Almost a week back, Dunya TV anchor Mubashir Lucman conducted a series of programmes on ‘polio’, in which it was alleged that the vaccine being administered in the country was expired or that heat was affecting the drops.
Guests on the show went on to suggest that such allegedly faulty drops could potentially cause polio itself, or even death.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 24th, 2012.
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It is established fact that the OPV (oral polio virus) can cause polio. That is the reason it is no longer administered in the United States. That information can be found on the CDC website as well as numerous official sources. There have been several outbreaks in Nigeria attributed to OPV. So yes, education please!
Sad.
For what it is worth, oral polio vaccine is a live attenuated polio virus. Billions of children have been vaccinated without any adverse effects. Expired or heat damaged polio vaccine at best are ineffective but DOES NOT cause the disease. It takes at least 21 days for effective protective immunity to build up following vaccination.
Education and campaign, please!
Pity to see polio cases are still reported here.