Bangladesh completes polio vaccination drive

Bangladesh completes polio vaccination drive
DHAKA (Reuters) - Millions of children across Bangladeshwere given their second vaccination against polio on Saturday,completing a drive to wipe out the disease, which re-emergedearly last year, health ministry officials said.
The first round of vaccinations against the incurabledisease, which affects mainly children under five and causesparalysis in a matter of hours, was given to some 25 millionchildren on October 27.
The children were also given a Vitamin A capsule to improvetheir night vision.
Bangladesh, declared polio-free in August 2000, haslaunched several rounds of vaccinations since the diseasere-emerged in March 2006, infecting some 18 children.
Most cases were in eastern areas on the border with India,one of four countries where polio is endemic.
Health officials believe the Bangladesh outbreak may haveoriginated in India, which has reported more than 500 poliocases, a blow to global efforts to eradicate the disease.
Helped by the United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF and theWorld Health Organisation (WHO), Bangladesh engaged some800,000 health workers and volunteers to complete the latestdrive.
"The latest drive was successfully completed as almost alltargeted children were vaccinated at thousands of centersacross the country," retired Major-General Matiur Rahman,health adviser to the interim government, told reporters.
Polio spread from India's populous Uttar Pradesh state toneighboring Nepal and Bangladesh and distant Angola and Namibiain 2006. All were previously polio-free.
Separately, the U.S. Agency for International Development(USAID) said in a statement it will provide $173 million overthe next five years to fund programs supporting maternal andchild health in an agreement with Bangladesh.
The statement was issued after Kent Hill, Assistantadministrator USAID, visited some health projects outside Dhakaon Saturday during his three-day tour in Bangladesh.
(Reporting by Nizam Ahmed, Editing by Ibon Villelabeitia)