Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report—Vaccines

Pakistan, Afghanistan Form Joint Action Plan Against Polio

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:23:12 GMT

Pakistan and Afghanistan, "the world's two worst polio-affected countries," have "decided to form a joint block under the World Health Organization to eradicate the infectious disease -- which causes motor paralysis and the atrophy of skeletal muscles, often resulting in permanent physical disability or deformity -- by December 2012," Inter Press Service reports. "The decision was made last year by the Technical Advisory Board (TAG), which is responsible for developing new strategies to wipe out the disease globally," the news service notes.

India's Ownership Over Polio Eradication Program Contributed To Success

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:36:00 GMT

"The key to India's success" in going a full year without recording a case of polio "was to take ownership of the problem and the solution, allowing for locals to learn from the expertise of the international community while not becoming dependent" on non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international donors, William Thomson, a research assistant at the U.S. Naval War College, writes in The Diplomat's "India Decade."

Al Jazeera Examines Unique Polio Eradication Campaign In Pakistan

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:08:00 GMT

In this video report, Al Jazeera examines polio eradication efforts in Pakistan, writing, "[I]n an unusual effort to eliminate the disease, health workers are stopping vehicles at a busy toll booth outside Islamabad to administer free polio vaccination drops to children under the age of five." The video recounts a "promise" made by Pakistan's prime minister last month to eliminate new polio infections in the country by the end of the year and provides commentary by Shahnaz Wazir Ali, assistant to the prime minister on social affairs, and Dennis King of UNICEF Pakistan about the target, current infection rates, and ongoing eradication efforts (Tyab, 2/6).

U.N. Supporting Yellow Fever Vaccination Campaigns In Cameroon, Ghana

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:46:33 GMT

Following an outbreak of the mosquito-borne yellow fever virus in Cameroon that has infected at least 23 people and killed at least seven people, U.N. and local officials are working to vaccinate "1.2 million people considered at high risk of contracting yellow fever, which has no cure," the U.N. News Centre reports. "The U.N. Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the International Coordinating Group on Yellow Fever Provision (YF-ICG) -- which includes WHO and the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) -- and the public-private partnership known as the GAVI Alliance are funding the vaccination campaign," the news service writes. In Ghana, YF-ICG is working with the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) to plan a vaccination campaign after at least three cases of yellow fever have been reported in the north of the country, the U.N. News Centre notes (2/3).

Poor Quality Vaccination Campaigns, Lack Of Government Commitment Helping Polio Spread In Chad

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:09:59 GMT

"Poor-quality emergency immunization campaigns and low routine polio immunization coverage are helping the polio virus to spread in Chad, with 132 cases reported in 2011 -- five times the number in 2010," IRIN reports. "More commitment is needed across the board, especially from local health authorities, to try to get immunizations right, say aid agencies," the news service adds.

GAVI Matching Fund Public-Private Partnership Working To Raise Money

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:15:05 GMT

In this AlertNet commentary, GAVI Alliance CEO Seth Berkley discusses how "public-private partnership is part of the GAVI Alliance's formula for success that has helped countries to immunize 325 million children in our first 10 years, saving more than 5.5 million lives." Writing last week from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Berkley says, "In fact, public-private partnerships are part of what brings me to Davos this week."

Blog Examines How Honduras Has Achieved Vaccination Coverage Averaging 99%

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:23:00 GMT

This post in the U.N. Foundation's "Shot@Life" blog examines how Honduras, "one of the poorest countries in the Western hemisphere," has achieved "one of the highest vaccination coverage rates in the world, averaging close to 99 percent." The blog writes, "We wanted to see firsthand how Honduras has achieved such amazing results, so last week Shot@Life traveled there with a U.S. Congressional staff delegation to learn more about their extremely effective immunization programs" and details the vaccination efforts of the rural town La Cañada (Willingham, 1/23).

Celebrating Polio Eradication Efforts In India With 'Guarded Optimism'

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:01:00 GMT

In part one of a two-part blog post in USAID's "IMPACTblog," USAID Worldwide Polio Eradication Coordinator Ellyn Ogden reports on the "hard work and dedication of the Indian government at the national, state, district, block and panchaiyat levels" that was required for the country to have a year free of polio. "Over two million health workers, mobilizers, and volunteers have contributed to this success and deserve to be seen as heroes in their communities," she writes (1/20). In part two of the post, Ogden recaps polio vaccination efforts and challenges, discusses the last recorded case of polio, and writes that going forward, "Guarded optimism prevails" as the country "is still at risk of importations from countries that have not yet stopped polio transmission" (1/23).

Cooperation Needed To Fight TB

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:28:00 GMT

In this post in Global Health Frontline News' "Notes From the Field" blog, Kevin Cain, chief of the tuberculosis (TB) branch for a research and public health collaboration between the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and the CDC in Kisumu, Kenya, reports on TB research underway as part of the collaboration. Cain highlights several current research initiatives in Kisumu and concludes, "The world cannot afford another phase of neglect. We know by partnering with governments as well as affected communities in innovative ways more progress can be made improving programs and the tools available for diagnosing, treating, and preventing TB, and lives will be saved" (1/20).

Pakistan's Polio Eradication Program Facing Challenges After Increase In Cases Last Year

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:43:55 GMT

IRIN examines several factors that could be contributing to an increase in polio cases in Pakistan, "despite the launch of a National Emergency Action Plan for Polio Eradication" at the beginning of 2011. In 2010, Pakistan recorded 144 cases of polio and 192 cases in 2011, the news service reports. According to IRIN, refusals by some households to vaccinate children; "administrative laxity" and "poorly run campaigns"; and malnutrition, vitamin deficiencies, and diarrhea among children could be contributing to the campaign's lack of success (1/23).

GAVI Says Ministries Of Health In Cameroon, Niger Cooperating To Reimburse Misused Funds

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:46:00 GMT

"Following separate investigations into the misuse of GAVI funding in Cameroon and Niger, both Ministries of Health have cooperated fully and confirmed their commitment to take all necessary measures, including the reimbursement of misused funds," the GAVI Alliance said in a statement released on Thursday. According to the statement, "The findings suggest that up to US$4.2 million allocated for health systems strengthening (HSS) has been misused in Cameroon and up to US$2.5 million allocated for immunization services support (ISS) has been misused in Niger," with approximately $1.8 million and $1.5 million of those funds under investigation for theft in the respective countries.

Risks Of Modifying Flu Strains To Become Highly Transmissible In Humans Outweigh Benefits

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:21:07 GMT

In this Journal Sentinel Online opinion piece, Thomas Inglesby, chief executive officer and director of the Center for Biosecurity of UPMC in Baltimore; Anita Cicero, chief operating officer and deputy director of the center; and D.A. Henderson, a distinguished scholar at the center, comment on a recent announcement by scientists that they have genetically modified a strain of H5N1 bird flu that is "capable of spreading through the air between ferrets that were physically separated from each other," indicating "it would be readily transmissible by air between humans." They write, "We believe the benefits of [purposefully engineer(ing) avian flu strains to become highly transmissible in humans] do not outweigh the risks."

Threefold Increase In Polio Cases In Afghanistan Concerns Experts

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:18:35 GMT

The New York Times examines how after years of decline, the number of recorded polio cases in Afghanistan tripled in 2011 to 76, following only 25 cases in 2010, raising concerns among international health experts that polio is seeing a resurgence, "particularly since some of the cases erupted far outside the disease's traditional areas in Afghanistan."

India Applauded For Marking One Year Without Polio, But Urged To Also Focus On Other Diseases

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:18:00 GMT

In this post in the Center for Global Development's (CGD) "Global Health Policy" blog, Victoria Fan, a research fellow at CGD, and Rachel Silverman, a research assistant at the center, respond to India's marking of one-year since a case of polio was found in the country, writing, "While we applaud India for its commitment to reaching this milestone, let us not allow this recent success obscure the sorry state of vaccination in India." They provide statistics regarding vaccination coverage in India and conclude, "We wonder whether India's focus on polio may have come at the expense of other diseases," and, "[w]hile India should be applauded for its contribution to global eradication, we urge India to consider the trade-offs in focusing on any one disease at the expense of another and, as much as possible, to try to piggy-back one effort to another effort" (1/14).

Afghan President Karzai Urges Taliban To Allow Polio Vaccination Teams Into Insurgent-Controlled Areas

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:36:00 GMT

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday "urg[ed] the Taliban to allow teams conducting a polio vaccination campaign access to areas under their control" and "said that whoever hampers the medical workers 'is the enemy of our children's future,'" the Associated Press/Washington Post reports (1/17). "A total of 80 cases of the crippling disease were reported in Afghanistan last year -- a three-fold increase over 2010, the health ministry said on Tuesday, marking a major setback in the drive to eradicate polio worldwide," Agence France-Presse writes, adding that "Karzai appealed to religious and community leaders to persuade the insurgents to allow the immunization teams to vaccinate children" (1/17).

Despite One Year Without Polio Cases, Threat of Disease Still Looms In India

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:25:38 GMT

T. Jacob John, a former professor of clinical virology an the Christian Medical College in Vellore, India, who has served on several Global and National Committees on Immunization and Polio Eradication, writes in this opinion piece in India's Hindu, "While one year has passed without polio caused by natural poliovirus, we can claim complete eradication only after we ensure the absence of wild and vaccine polioviruses in the population." He provides a brief history of polio eradication efforts, globally and in India, and continues, "For certification of eradication, two more years should pass without any case of wild virus polio. ... We must continue working as if we still have poliovirus lurking somewhere, only to show up when least expected" (1/8).

HHS Secretary Sebelius Helps India Mark One Year Since Last Recorded Polio Case

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:00:23 GMT

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius "administered polio vaccination drops to children in New Delhi on Friday as India marked one year since its last case of the crippling disease," the Associated Press reports (1/13). The Hill's "Healthwatch" reports that "[o]fficials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] say U.S. funding and experience were key to beating back the disease," but "[t]he news comes as federal funding for global health programs now faces sharp cuts from Tea Party lawmakers and others worried about the deficit" (Pecquet, 1/12). "Globally, the U.S. government has provided $2 billion for the polio eradication campaign, Rotary International has raised about $1 billion from its members, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has donated more than $1 billion," and the CDC "weighed in with crucial expertise," the Washington Post writes (Denyer, 1/12).

Al Jazeera Examines Candidate Malaria Vaccine, Other Ongoing Efforts To Thwart The Disease

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:57:51 GMT

Al Jazeera reports on the candidate malaria vaccine known as RTS,S, which "has been heralded as one of the Top 10 Scientific Breakthroughs of 2011 by Time and Science magazines, Doctors Without Borders and the Lancet." The news service recaps the history of the vaccine's development, outlines a number of existing prevention strategies and details ongoing efforts in the global fight against malaria (Dalal, 1/11).

International Health Groups Ally To Fight Cholera In Haiti; Officials Emphasize Need For Sanitation Infrastructure

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:52:00 GMT

"Unless steps are taken to eliminate cholera from Haiti and the neighboring Dominican Republic, the disease will likely resurge and could even spread to other parts of the Caribbean, international health officials said Wednesday," CQ HealthBeat reports (Bristol, 1/11). Officials from the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), UNICEF and the CDC "said they would join with the Haitian and Dominican governments to develop a plan to eradicate cholera from the island the two countries share by extending clean water and sanitation to stricken areas," Reuters writes, adding, "The effort faces a daunting financial challenge if it is to meet a goal of reaching at least two-thirds of the Haitian population by 2015, a task that could cost $1.1 billion" (Morgan, 1/12).

Bangladesh Works To Vaccinate 500K Children Against Polio In Annual Immunization Drive

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:41:18 GMT

"Mobile health teams in Bangladesh are conducting 'child-to-child' searches to reach the remaining half million children not vaccinated during a nationwide polio immunization campaign launched on 7 January," IRIN reports. With a goal of vaccinating 22 million children, health workers are heading into hard-to-reach and high-risk areas to vaccinate the remaining 560,791 children, the news service writes. "Since a polio outbreak in 2006 of an imported viral strain, the government has not reported any infections, pledging annual polio vaccinations until [neighboring] India is declared polio-free," IRIN notes, adding the next round of polio vaccinations in Bangladesh is scheduled for February 11 (1/11).