Over 22 million Bangladeshi children up to five years old were given polio vaccine during the second round of the country’s 20th National Immunisation Day in February 2012.Dr. Sayed Abu Jafar Mhd Musa, Director of Primary Health Care that oversees the program, noted that in addition to the 140,000 million permanent vaccination outposts, there were an additional 20,000 mobile centres in transport terminals, bus stations, rail stations and ports to reach children on the move to ensure a fully targeted coverage. Dr. Musa also called upon everyone to help support the campaign so that Bangladesh can maintain its polio-free status until it receives World Health Organization certification.
According to the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), polio was last found in Bangladesh in 2006 when 18 cases were detected, after a long hiatus. The Bangladesh Health Minister AFM Ruhal Haque, who opened the first round of the campaign, has said Bangladesh needed to continue the immunization campaign against polio regularly as neighboring India still had polio cases as recently as 2011.
Source: bdnews24.com
