A United Nations-backed polio immunization drive conducted by the Ethiopian Government is seeking to protect more than 14 million children under five there from the devastating disease.
The four-day, house-to-house campaign, which began on Friday, is being carried out in collaboration with the UN World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children?s Fund (UNICEF).
Mainly affecting children under five, the polio virus invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours, according to WHO. Highly infectious, the virus is passed primarily through person-to-person contact. The polio vaccine, administered multiple times, almost always protects a child for life.
Ethiopia had been polio-free since January 2001, as a result of previous immunization efforts. However, new cases were confirmed in 2005 and 2006, triggering the need for further immunization efforts.