Tajikistan may be stripped of poliomyelitis-free status

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14/9 Tass 185

MOSCOW, September 14 (Itar-Tass) - Tajikistan may be stripped of its
status of a poliomyelitis-free zone, Margaret Chan, Director-General of
the World Health Organization (WHO), said at a session of the WHO European
Bureau on Tuesday.
According to Ms. Chan, as a result of an outbreak of poliomyelitis in
Tajikistan, the region may be stripped of its status of poliomyelitis-free
zone.
Tajikistan enjoyed that status until recently, but a massive outbreak
of poliomyelitis, especially among children, took place in that country
last year.
Cases of poliomyelitis among the people, who came from Tajikistan,
were registered in Russia. In this connection the Federal Service for the
Protection of Consumer Rights and Human Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor) took
some restricting measures. Now the people coming from Tajikistan should
present certificates on vaccination against poliomyelitis. If they have no
such certificates, they are vaccinated right on the border.
Russia is a poliomyelitis-free zone. Nevertheless, children continue
to be vaccinated against poliomyelitis every year, because hotbeds of that
disease continue to exist in the world. During the past three years
Russian doctors used only "killed" vaccine, which cannot be the cause of
vaccine-associated poliomyelitis.
-0-rom/gor