Thursday 26th January 2017- UNICEF UK: 4.7 Million Children In Vaccination Campaign Against Measles In Northeast Nigeria

‘In a major vaccination campaign concluding this week, 4.7 million children are being vaccinated in response to a measles outbreak in northeast Nigeria. The campaign is covering the three states most affected by the Boko Haram conflict – Adamawa, Borno and Yobe – where insecurity has limited vaccination efforts. In 2016, there were approximately 25,000 cases of measles among children in Nigeria; 97 per cent of the cases were in children under the age of ten and at least a hundred children died.

“Security has improved in some areas so we have acted quickly to access places we could not previously reach and protect children from the spread of a very dangerous disease”, said Mohamed Fall, Unicef Representative in Nigeria. “We are still extremely concerned about children living in large areas of Borno state that are not yet accessible.”

Measles infections tend to increase during the first half of the year because of higher temperatures. Measles vaccination coverage across Nigeria remains low, with a little over 50 per cent of children reached, but in areas affected by conflict, children are particularly vulnerable. The risks for malnourished children who have weakened immunity are further heightened. The conflict and resulting displacement have left more than 4.4 million children in Nigeria in need of humanitarian assistance, with an estimated 450,000 children likely to suffer from Severe Acute Malnutrition in 2017.

The vaccination campaign, conducted in partnership with the Nigerian government, WHO, and several non-governmental organizations, also includes a vitamin A supplement for children under five to boost their immunity as well as de-worming tablets. Most of the funding for the campaign was provided by the Measles and Rubella Initiative.’

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4.7 MILLION CHILDREN IN VACCINATION CAMPAIGN AGAINST MEASLES IN NORTHEAST NIGERIA

Millions of children to receive measles vaccine in north-eastern Nigeria- World Health Organisation

Friday 23rd December 2016- The World Health Organisation: Final trial results confirm Ebola vaccine provides high protection against disease

‘An experimental Ebola vaccine was highly protective against the deadly virus in a major trial in Guinea, according to results published today in The Lancet[*]. The vaccine is the first to prevent infection from one of the most lethal known pathogens, and the findings add weight to early trial results published last year.

The vaccine, called rVSV-ZEBOV, was studied in a trial involving 11 841 people in Guinea during 2015. Among the 5837 people who received the vaccine, no Ebola cases were recorded 10 days or more after vaccination. In comparison, there were 23 cases 10 days or more after vaccination among those who did not receive the vaccine.

The trial was led by WHO, together with Guinea’s Ministry of Health, Medecins sans Frontieres and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, in collaboration with other international partners.

“While these compelling results come too late for those who lost their lives during West Africa’s Ebola epidemic, they show that when the next Ebola outbreak hits, we will not be defenceless,” said Dr Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO’s Assistant Director-General for Health Systems and Innovation, and the study’s lead author.’

*The final interpretation from the referenced Lancet article:

‘The results add weight to the interim assessment that rVSV-ZEBOV offers substantial protection against Ebola virus disease, with no cases among vaccinated individuals from day 10 after vaccination in both randomised and non-randomised clusters.’

Related Articles:

Final trial results confirm Ebola vaccine provides high protection against disease

Efficacy and effectiveness of an rVSV-vectored vaccine in preventing Ebola virus disease: final results from the Guinea ring vaccination, open-label, cluster-randomised trial (Ebola Ça Suffit!)- The Lancet

Ebola vaccine is safe and effective, scientists declare after trials- The Guardian

Successful Ebola vaccine will be fast-tracked for use- BBC News

The new ‘100% effective’ Ebola vaccine owes a debt to the scientists who beat smallpox- The Independent

Tuesday 10th November 2015- BBC News: Meningitis jab in Africa a ‘stunning success’

‘A mass vaccination programme against meningitis A in Africa has been a “stunning success”, say experts.

More than 220 million people were immunised across 16 countries in the continent’s meningitis belt.

In 2013 there were just four cases across the entire region, which once faced thousands of deaths each year.

However, there are fresh warnings from the World Health Organization that “huge epidemics” could return unless a new vaccination programme is started.

The meningitis belt stretches across sub-Saharan Africa from Gambia in the west to Ethiopia in the east.

In the worst epidemic recorded, in 1996-97, the disease swept across the belt infecting more than a quarter of a million people and led to 25,000 deaths.

Unlike other vaccines, the MenAfriVac was designed specifically for Africa and in 2010 a mass vaccination campaign was started.

Laboratory-confirmed cases of meningitis A have been falling ever since:

• 2009 – 1,994 cases
• 2010 – 430 cases
• 2011 – 111 cases
• 2012 – 49 cases
• 2013 – four cases

“The disease has virtually disappeared from this part of the world,” said Dr Marie-Pierre Preziosi from the World Health Organization.’

 

Related Articles:

Meningitis jab in Africa a ‘stunning success’

Affordable and effective vaccine brings Africa close to elimination of meningitis A- World Health Organisation

Tuesday 1st September 2015- The Guardian: NHS meningitis B vaccination programme begins across the UK

‘A vaccination programme to protect young children in the UK against the potentially fatal disease meningitis B begins on Tuesday.

The jab is being added to the NHS childhood immunisation programme and will be offered to babies at the ages of two months, four months and 12-13 months.

In March 2014 the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation recommended a national MenB immunisation programme for infants using a three-dose schedule.

But there was a delay in making it available while negotiations took place between the Department of Health and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), which makes the Bexsero MenB vaccine.

The introduction of the programme means Britain will become the first country in the world with a nationwide meningitis B vaccination programme. The public health minister, Jane Ellison, said it was a “landmark moment”.’

See:

NHS meningitis B vaccination programme begins across the UK

Sunday 12th July 2015- The Independent: Professor Harald zur Hausen: Nobel scientist calls for HPV vaccination for boys

‘The UK should vaccinate all boys against the cancer-causing human papilloma virus (HPV), the Nobel Prize-winning scientist who discovered the link between HPV and cancer has said.

Professor Harald zur Hausen, the German virologist whose theory that HPV could be a cause of cervical cancers led to global efforts to vaccinate girls against the virus, said that boys should also be protected.’

‘There is now a wealth of evidence that HPV also causes cancers in men, including anal, penile and throat cancer. Professor zur Hausen added that there was now a chance to “eradicate” HPV viruses altogether if the world developed global vaccination programmes for all children.’

‘Since 2008 the UK has offered free vaccinations against HPV to girls aged 12 to 13 – a programme that had an almost 87 per cent uptake from 2013 to 2014 and has led to falls in the number of pre-cancerous abnormalities of the cervix, according to research carried out among vaccinated girls in Scotland.’

‘Vaccine authorities in the UK, traditionally an international leader in the field of immunisation, are yet to make a judgement on a publicly funded vaccination programme for boys, which would follow in the wake of those already in place in Australia, Austria, Israel and parts of Canada.

HPV is the name for a common group of viruses that can affect the moist membranes of the cervix, anus, mouth and throat. It is usually spread through sexual contact.’

See:

Professor Harald zur Hausen: Nobel scientist calls for HPV vaccination for boys

Sunday 21st June 2015- The Telegraph: Meningitis B vaccine for all UK babies from September

‘Parents will be able to get jabs for the strain of the deadly brain infection for youngsters at the ages of two and four months, with a booster when they are a year old, the Department of Health and Scottish Government announced.

They said that the infant programme, available from GPs, meant England and Scotland were the first countries in the world to begin “national and publicly-funded meningitis B immunisation”.

Teenagers aged 17 and 18 in the final year of sixth-form and other students aged 19 to 25 who are starting university this year will also be able to receive a vaccination against the A, C, W and Y strains of the infection from August, the Department of Health said, which is “particularly important” for those heading off to university.’

Related Articles:

Meningitis B vaccine for all UK babies from September

England become first country worldwide to offer meningitis jabs to all babies- The Independent

Meningitis B vaccine offered to all babies from September- BBC News

New meningitis drive vaccine will save thousands of lives- The Guardian

Wednesday 29th April 2015- BBC News: Rubella (German measles) eradicated from Americas

‘North and South America have become the first regions of the world to eradicate rubella, or German measles, after no home-grown cases in five years.

The virus – spread by sneezes or coughs – can lead to serious birth defects if contracted by pregnant women.

Up to 20,000 children were born with rubella in the Americas every year until mass vaccinations started.

But the last endemic cases registered in the region were in Argentina and Brazil in 2009.

The fact no new cases have been declared in five consecutive years, apart from those imported into the region, allowed global health chiefs to declare the Americas free of the virus.’

See:

Rubella (German measles) eradicated from Americas

Wednesday 22nd April 2015- World Health Organisation: Global vaccination targets ‘off-track’ warns WHO

‘Progress towards global vaccination targets for 2015 is far off-track with 1 in 5 children still missing out on routine life-saving immunizations that could avert 1.5 million deaths each year from preventable diseases.’

‘In 2013 nearly 22 million infants missed out on the required three doses of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis-containing vaccines (DTP3), many of them living in the world’s poorest countries. WHO is calling for an end to the unnecessary disability and death caused by failure to vaccinate.’

‘In 2012, all 194 WHO Member States at the World Health Assembly endorsed the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP), a commitment to ensure that no one misses out on vital immunization. However, a recent independent assessment report on GVAP progress rings an alarm bell… [as] only 1 of the 6 key vaccination targets for 2015 is currently on track – the introduction of under-utilized vaccines.

Many countries worldwide have experienced large measles outbreaks in the past year, threatening efforts to achieve the GVAP target of eliminating measles in 3 WHO Regions by end-2015.’

‘WHO estimates that today immunizations prevent between 2 and 3 million deaths annually and protect many more people from illness and disability.’

‘The Global Vaccine Action Plan envisions a world where everyone lives life free from vaccine preventable diseases by 2020. It set 6 targets for 2015:

Immunization against diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough (DTP3)
Target: 90% immunization coverage against diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough by 2015.
Gap: 65 countries

Introduction of under-utilized vaccines
Target: At least 90 low or middle income countries to have introduced one or more under-utilized vaccines by 2015.
ON TRACK

Polio eradication
Target: No new cases after 2014
Gap: 3 countries remain polio endemic

Maternal and neonatal tetanus: Global elimination by end-2015
Target: Eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus
Gap: 24 countries

Measles elimination
Target: Eliminate from three WHO regions by end-2015
Gap: 16% of all children are not being immunized against measles

Rubella elimination
Target: Eliminate rubella from two WHO regions by end-2015
Gap: Half of all children do not receive the rubella vaccine’

See:

Global vaccination targets ‘off-track’ warns WHO

Monday 2nd March 2015- The Guardian: Pakistan jails 471 parents who refused to give polio vaccine to children

‘Hundreds of parents in north-west Pakistan have been arrested and jailed after refusing to give their children polio vaccinations, according to officials.

Feroz Shah, a spokesman for the district administration in Peshawar, said 471 people had been imprisoned in the city and surrounding villages under government orders on charges of endangering public security.’

Reasons for vaccination refusal included the fear of violence implied by the Taliban who prohibit vaccinations and have attacked health workers- as BBC News describes ‘In November four polio vaccination workers were shot dead in the south-west city of Quetta.’

Political involvement could be argued to deny the parental rights of the children’s families to decide whether their child is to be vaccinated or not, creating an ethical problem, as while the national safety of the region regarding the highly contagious nature of the polio virus is influential, does it excuse the government from depriving the patients’ parents of their say when it comes to their children’s safety, medically and socially?

See:

Pakistan jails 471 parents who refused to give polio vaccine to children– The Guardian

Pakistan arrests parents for refusing polio vaccine– BBC News

 

Thursday 19th February 2015- World Health Organisation: Immunization leaders call for increased political support for immunization in Pakistan

It has become apparent that childhood immunization in Pakistan is ‘at a crossroads and strong political will is required to ensure that the lives of millions of children are not put at risk’. Dr Seth Berkley, Chief Executive Office of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Dr Ala Alwan, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean and Dr Geeta Rao Gupta, Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF are set to meet with leaders in Islamabad ‘to set out their concerns and offer their support to Pakistan moving forwards’.

‘Almost three million children miss out on a full course of the most basic vaccines every year in Pakistan, leaving them vulnerable to life-threatening diseases. Immunization coverage rates across the country vary widely with some districts seeing very few children protected against diseases, such as diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, measles and bacterial pneumonia.

“Deaths among children under five years attributable to vaccine-preventable diseases constitute up to 25% of the total deaths among this age group in developing countries, including Pakistan,” said Dr Ala Alwan, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean. “Pakistan is not on track for achieving Millennium Development Goal No 4, which aims at reducing child mortality by two thirds by 2015. Increasing routine vaccination coverage will significantly contribute to reducing infant and child deaths and achieving MDG4.”’

‘“Pakistan has a choice to make for its children,” added Dr Berkley. “Routine immunization is the bedrock for access to vaccines against many illnesses, including polio, so by strengthening these systems Pakistan will be making an investment of political will which will benefit many generations to come.”’

See:

Immunization leaders call for increased political support for immunization in Pakistan