Myanmar battles first polio outbreak in 7 years

Polio has infected two children in western Myanmar, the country's first outbreak of the paralyzing disease in seven years, a senior Health Ministry official said on Wednesday.

A vaccination campaign would begin next week in Rakhine State where the children lived in a township near the Bangladesh border, the official said.

"We introduced necessary measures to control and monitor the spread. We can say the situation is now under control," said the official, who declined to be named.
The outbreak of the Type 1 wild polio virus was the first since Myanmar declared itself polio-free in 2000, the official said.

Polio retained a hold in parts of
Afghanistan, Nigeria, Pakistan and India, with the latter being the likely source of re-infection in Myanmar, the official said.

"The virus strain was found to be type-1, the same as the one found in India. It is believed to have migrated via Bangladesh," he said.

The World Health Organisation has called for a new drive to stamp out polio, which still infects about 2,000 people, mainly children, a year.