TEHRAN – The first phase of the national immunization campaign for polio eradication, using domestically produced vaccines, will cover a total of 1.1 million Iranian and foreign children under the age of five.

Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that largely affects children under 5 years of age. The virus is transmitted primarily through person-to-person contact, mainly via the fecal-oral route, or, less frequently, via a common vehicle (such as contaminated water or food), and multiplies in the intestine. From there, it can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the virus is transmitted by person-to-person spread mainly through the faecal-oral route or, less frequently, by a common vehicle (for example, contaminated water or food) and multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis.

It can be prevented through immunization. The development of effective vaccines to prevent paralytic polio was one of the major medical breakthroughs of the 20th century. The Polio vaccine, given multiple times, almost always protects a child for life.

The health ministry will implement an annual immunization campaign in different provinces based on the climate conditions. In the southern parts of the country, the campaign is usually conducted during the second month of winter, and the second phase is to be implemented with a month interval, the health ministry website quoted Mohsen Zahraei, an official with the health ministry, as saying.

All children under five years of age in selected regions will receive two drops of polio vaccine during the supplementary campaign. The door-to-door vaccination will be conducted in three days in a row, he noted.

The campaign primarily focuses on southern provinces such as Sistan-Baluchestan, Hormozgan, Kerman, Bam, and Jiroft, both cities and villages. It will also be conducted in high-risk areas in Bushehr, Khozestan, and Fars provinces, Zahraei added.

The official went on to say that the campaign will kick off in the northern parts of the country in spring, covering 350,000 Iranian and foreign national children.

The vaccine is manufactured by Razi Vaccine and Serum Production Research Institute. Over the past 50 years, the Razi Institute has significantly enhanced its research and production capabilities, establishing itself as a leader in science and technical collaboration.

Polio vaccination should be given at 2, 4, 6, and 18 months of age, with booster vaccination given at 4 to 6 years of age. The supplementary immunization campaign to eradicate polio in Iran started in 1994. Thanks to the campaign, the country has been polio-free since 2000.

However, in Iran’s two neighboring countries, namely Afghanistan and Pakistan, endemic transmission of wild poliovirus is still prevalent. Due to frequent travel to these countries, as well as intensified migration of Afghans to the country because of political changes in Afghanistan in recent years, Iran is exposed to the resurgence of the disease.

MT/MG