[I think last semester I posted up an article about a few people being infected by Polio in Indonesia, which hasn't been in the country for years. This is the follow up of what Indonesia is doing to prevent Polio.]

Indonesia begins huge polio drive
Article by Ania Lichtarowicz

Indonesia is launching its largest ever immunisation campaign against polio, which is expected to reach 24 million children under the age of five.

The country was free of the disease for 10 years - but in March 2005 the virus paralysed a 20-month-old boy in Java.

Since then 225 Indonesian children have been paralysed by polio which was imported from Sudan.

The World Health Organization warns the virus could spread to countries like Malaysia, China and the Philippines.

Setback

More than 750,000 health care workers and volunteers are involved in the initiative stretching across 6,000 islands in Indonesia.

If the virus was to spread to other countries, this would be another setback for the global polio eradication initiative.

Since 2003, 18 previously polio-free countries have been re-infected with the virus.

Two more vaccination campaigns are planned in September and November, by which point the world will know if the target of stopping transmission by the end of this year will be met.

Taken from BBC News