Disabilities: incomplete immunisation can be a danger to your child

Causes of disability. The main causes of physical disability are polio (67 per cent); birth defects (37 per cent) and accidents 35. Interestingly; there are fewer diasabled girls than boys (females:males 29:43; 1:1.5). It is not clear if this is an artifact as a result of any gender-based difference in risk; or an issue of selective survival (Schepes-Hughes; 1991). There are relatively few disabled children below the age of five years (22 per cent); the major cause of disability is polio even among these young children (69 per cent). The target proportion of disabled children by age is 10-14 year old group (49 per cent) which reflects the cumulative risk of polio and accidents over time