More Polio Cases in Pakistan: Islamic Clerics Say Those Who Die of Polio Are 'Martyrs'

National Institute of Health (NIH) and World Health Organization (WHO) workers deployed throughout Pakistan to give polio vaccinations are being denied access to children. Threats made by Taliban-backed clerics are the cause of the resistance to polio vaccinations by Muslim citizens.

Despite new reports of polio, influential religious leaders are advising their followers that the polio vaccinations are "un-Islamic" and that those who die of polio are "martyrs". The Daily Times reports today on the newest wave of polio diagnosed in the region--

A senior official at the NIH said that health authorities had confirmed yet another polio case in the Nowshera. He said that the polio victim was originally from the Bajaur Agency. In addition, the Health Ministry has also reported three more confirmed polio cases in urban and rural Sindh.

Even though some well-respected Muslim religions leaders are issuing fatwas (religious decrees) in favor of polio vaccinations, some clerics are influencing parents and children against vaccination by telling them that the drops will cause infertility.

The Daily Times reports activities taken by some religious clerics to impede the polio vaccination drive among Muslims in Pakistan--

The clerics, including Tehreek Nifaz Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) leader Maulana Fazlullah and his supporters in the Malakand Agency, have been 'warning' people during sermons in mosques or through illegal FM radio stations not to administer polio drops to their children since it was against religious norms and brought infertility. Maulana Fazlullah is the son-in-law of Maulana Sufi Muhammad, ex-chief of the TNSM.

These reported actions by Muslim clerics follow on previous violence used in an attempt to squelch the polio immunization campaign. Earlier this month, a government physician was killed by a remote-controlled roadside bomb exploded in Salarzai. He was returning from a jirga (tribal council) where he'd met with locals to try and convince them to immunize their children against polio. While no group claimed responsibility for the attack, it's believed to have been carried out by local militant tribal peoples.

In the face of new polio cases in Pakistan, WHO and the Ministry of Health are taking actions to complete the polio immunization drive. The Daily Times Reports--

WHO and the Ministry of Health are contemplating enlisting the help of the district/tehsil and union council nazims, political and religious leaders, public representatives and tribal elders, sources said. NIH and WHO officials have confirmed the refusal and resistance by the people in the tribal and settled areas of the NWFP. They believe that the situation could worsen if the government did not take drastic measures to discourage the elements trying to disrupt the campaign.

Polio is a viral disease that can damage the nervous system and cause paralysis. It is most common in infants and young children. The disease is spread from hands contaminated with the stool of an infected person, and the virus enters the mouth. According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC), polio used to be very common in the U.S. and caused severe illness in thousands of people each year before polio vaccine was introduced in 1955. Per the 2004 National Immunization Survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 92 percent of children aged 19 to 35 months living in the United States were vaccinated against polio. About 95.5 percent of US children are vaccinated against polio before school entry.

Per The Guardian--

The parents of 24,000 children in northern Pakistan refused to allow health workers to administer polio vaccinations last month, mostly due to rumors that the harmless vaccine was an American plot to sterilize innocent Muslim children.

The disinformation - spread by extremist clerics using mosque loudspeakers and illegal radio stations, and by word of mouth - has caused a sharp jump in polio cases in Pakistan and hit global efforts to eradicate the debilitating disease.

Some brave mothers have taken their children to the vaccination clinics in secret, at times defying the wishes of male relatives who are opposed to the polio vaccination.

Sources:

More polio cases if resistance continues: NIH, WHO, Daily Times, http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C02%5C27%5Cstory_27-2-2007_pg7_19

Official leading polio drive killed, Daily Times, http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\02\17\story_17-2-2007_pg1_2

Polio cases jump in Pakistan as clerics declare vaccination an American plot, The Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/pakistan/Story/0,,2013369,00.html

Polio Facts, Department of Health Promotion and Education, http://www.dhpe.org/infect/polio.html

FAQS About Polio, Center for Disease Control, http://www.cdc.gov/nip/diseases/polio/faqs.htm