The second stage of the vaccination campaign against poliomyelitis starts Saturday. The Jeddah Health Affairs Management will launch the five-day campaign under the patronage of Prince Misha'l Bin Majed Bin Abdul Aziz, Governor of Jeddah. The campaign is part of the government measures to make the country free of poliomyelitis. “Around 200,000 Saudi and expatriate children below the age of five will be vaccinated. All families are advised to vaccinate their children by visiting any of the medical centers run by the Ministry of Health,” said Dr. Sami Badawood, Director of Health Affairs Department. Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease, which mainly affects young children. The virus is transmitted through contaminated food and water, and multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system. Many infected people have no symptoms, but do excrete the virus in their faeces, hence transmitting infection to others. Initial symptoms of polio include fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness in the neck, and pain in the limbs. In a small proportion of cases, the disease causes paralysis, which is often permanent. Polio can only be prevented by immunization. Primary Health Care Department has chalked out a complete strategy for the immunization campaign against polio,” said Dr. Badawood. Several medical teams have been assigned to various districts of the city to cover a large number of children. These teams will visit houses in each district to ensure that no child is left without vaccination, he said. The first stage of the campaign was launched on Jan. 31.
