DUSHANBE, October 14, 2010, Asia-Plus — No polio cases have been registered in Tajikistan over the last four months, Minister of Health Nusratullo Salimov announced at a news conference in Dushanbe on October 13.
“Due to support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Tajikistan has managed to prevent spread of the disease,” the minister said, noting that the last polio case was registered in the country on June 4.
During the polio outbreak (late March – early April), there were 705 suspect cases of polio, of which 438 cases were confirmed, Salimov noted. According to him, 21 people died of polio in Tajikistan.
“Six rounds of polio immunization campaign targeting children aged 0 to 15 have been held in Tajikistan and the next one will take place from November 8 to November 12,” the minister said.
The new round aims at maximizing children’s protection against the disease by boosting their immunity against all three types of polio virus.
On the current situation of infectious diseases in the country, Salimov noted that the situation has been temperate this year. He noted that a seasonal flu vaccination campaign would start on October 18 and it would cover high-risk groups, primarily health care workers. 800,000 doses of seasonal flu vaccine have bee provided by the World Health Organization.
