Indonesia yesterday said it will begin a new wave of mass vaccinations against polio to try to halt the spread of the crippling virus as four new cases bring the number of infections to 50.
Health authorities described the speed at which Indonesia's first outbreak of polio in a decade has spread as "very high." They said the new immunization campaigns later this month and in August would reduce the risk of the country exporting the virus.
"The vaccination of polio is very important for [our] national interests," Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari said.
The latest cases of children infected by polio have emerged despite a massive government immunization drive late last month that targeted almost 6.5 million children. Supari said all 50 cases to date have been found on Java in the same region as an initial diagnosis in late April that prompted the vaccination campaign.
The highest concentration of cases -- a total of 42 infected children -- was detected in the districts of Lebak and Sukabumi, the area where the original outbreak was detected, Sapari said.
The other eight were found in three nearby districts.
David Hipgrave, chief of health and nutrition of the UN Children's Fund, was optimistic that Indonesia and its foreign donors could contain the outbreak but warned that they must "act quickly and comprehensively."
The Indonesian polio cases have been a setback to a UN program to eliminate the disease worldwide by the end of the year.
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