AFRICA - Intensified efforts toward the prevention of polio in Uganda and Kenya

Pader (Agenzia Fides) - After the confirmation of new cases of polio in Uganda and in neighbouring districts of Kenya, efforts have increased to combat this pandemic. The Ugandan Ministry of Health has just launched a three day door to door vaccination campaign in 48 districts to children under five years of age. In the northern Ugandan district of Pader, particularly vulnerable to polio because of its proximity to southern Sudan, the health workers organized for the immunizations have reached the families of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the villages, thereby vaccinating children in their homes, without requiring them to travel. So far, 43,071 have been vaccinated. The case of polio recorded in late October in Bugiri, about 40km from Busia, a border town with Kenya, was the first reported in Uganda since May 2009. From analyses conducted on the virus it was found to be genetically identical to that recorded in southern Sudan. The vaccination campaign in 22 districts of Kenya, bordering Uganda to the east, will continue until January and is reducing the spread of the pandemic. The coverage in Kenya is 70%.
However, in the Turkana region, at the border with southern Sudan, the coverage is much lower in respect to the national average. The last recorded case in Kenya was in 1984, although one case refers back to 2006, imported from Somalia. In 2009, however, the contagious recorded in the country came from southern Sudan. Vaccination campaigns continue, despite numerous reports of cases reported in Pointe Noire, in the Republic of Congo (see Fides 11/6/2010). On 9 November 2010, at least 324 cases of acute flaccid paralysis and 146 deaths were recorded in Pointe Noire, with five confirmed cases of type 1 polio virus. The polio virus is transmitted through contaminated water and food. The symptoms include fever, fatigue, migraine, vomiting, stiffness in the neck and limb pain. In some cases it leads to permanent paralysis. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 23/11/2010)