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02/22/2004 Archived Entry: "Nigerian Islamic state rejects polio vaccine evidence as outbreak spreads"

Posted by steve @ 11:46 PM EST [Link]

THANKS FOR KILLING YOUR OWN PEOPLE: A state in Nigeria that is controlled by Islamic leaders announced today that it wouldn't permit polio vaccinations on the grounds that it is a Western plot to make Muslims infertile.

"Kano state will not participate in tomorrow's polio campaign. Our team made the discovery of contaminants first, remember," state government spokesman Sule Ya'u Sule told The Associated Press, referring to tests the state says its scientists conducted on the polio vaccine last year.

"Unless we are convinced by our committee (of health experts) that the oral polio vaccines are safe, the exercise remains suspended in Kano state," Sule said.

U.N. aid agencies insist the door-to-door drive to inoculate 63 million children in 10 west and central African countries, including Nigeria, is critical to stemming a growing polio outbreak spreading out from Nigeria's predominantly Muslim north.

Read on.