Polio Outbreaks

This week's Nature has a news article reporting on some recent polio outbreaks:

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Polio is spreading to countries previously considered free of the disease, following a vaccine boycott in Nigeria in 2003. An outbreak in Yemen has sparked fears of an epidemic in the poorly immunized Middle Eastern nation. And the virus has now reached southeast Asia, with four cases confirmed in Indonesia last week.

Polio has not been seen in Yemen and Indonesia for a decade. Genetic analysis shows that the virus appearing in both areas is similar to the one that caused a 2003 outbreak in Nigeria. Polio vaccines were rejected in northern Nigerian states after Muslim clerics claimed they had been contaminated with HIV and contraceptives. Sixteen 'polio-free' countries have reported cases since 2003.

Fortunately, according to the article, it looks like Yemen and Indonesia are taking this seriously and acting. There is no more information about the bone-heads in Nigeria. The spread appears to be a result of Muslim travel, either for work or pilgrimage.

This is another lesson in why we continue to vaccinate against diseases like polio. With the continual churning of people around the globe, we can't consider ourselves safe until the diseases have been eradicated from the earth. Even then, we'll want to keep a look out over our shoulder.