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Children Sickened in Pakistan after Polio Vaccinations

by Associated Press

   PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN --

   Pakistani officials say hundreds of school children have been taken to
   hospitals complaining of nausea and vomiting after being given polio
   vaccinations.

   They say angry family members responded by storming a local health
   facility in Peshawar on Monday and setting it ablaze.

   The incident deals another blow to efforts to eradicate the disease,
   which have been hindered by widespread distrust in some areas. Islamic
   extremists have targeted polio workers and stoke conspiracy theories
   that the vaccinations are part of a Western plot to sterilize Muslims.

   Pakistan, neighboring Afghanistan and Nigeria are the only three
   countries where polio is still endemic.