Health News
2007-01-26
Fear of impotence
curbs polio vaccinations in Pakistan
Health officials
in Pakistan say 160,000 children have not been immunized
against polio because of rumors that the va
Health officials
in Pakistan say 160,000 children have not been immunized
against polio because of rumors that the vaccine
causes sexual impotence, reported the BBC. Parents
told the BBC that they feared an “American
conspiracy” to halt the fertility of the next
generation.
The World Heath
Organization has mounted a $196 million campaign to
control the disease in Pakistan, one of four countries they
say is a source of polio. In 2006, 1,902 cases of
polio were reported worldwide. At least 39 cases of
polio were reported in Pakistan, 15 of those from the
North-West Frontier Province and tribal areas, where only
20% of people are vaccinated.
Local clerics in
the North-West Frontier Province started the rumor on
their illegal FM radio stations, the BBC
reported. According to NWFP residents, Maulana
Fazlullah told listeners that the polio immunization
project was "a conspiracy of the Jews and Christians to
stunt the population growth of Muslims." Maulana
told the BBC that international organizations should
help hepatitis-C patients if they really want
to improve the health of Muslims.
Last year samples
of the polio vaccine were examined in a laboratory
after a petition in Peshawar High Court alleged they
contained estrogen. According to health official
Waheed Khan, none was found.
A 2006 WHO report
listed 66 localities that were not immunized due to
logistical problems and 320 areas that were poorly immunized
due the rumor. In some areas, health
workers confronted violence by locals, reported
officials. (The Advocate)
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