Polio Outbreak in Africa after more than five years 

WHO said in a statement the first case of wild poliovirus was found in Malawi after more than five years. 

In a statement on Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that Malawi’s health authorities had declared a polio outbreak after, in the capital Lilongwe, a case was detected in a young child. 

This case of wild poliovirus is the first to be found in a while. It is shown by laboratory analysis that the strain detected in Malawi is linked to the one circulating in Pakistan, where it is still endemic. 

While taking urgent measures to prevent Polio from spreading, the WHO said, “As an imported case from Pakistan, this detection does not affect the African region’s wild poliovirus-free certification status.” 

Matshidiso Moeti, WHO’s regional director for Africa, said, “Thanks to a high level of polio surveillance in the continent and the capacity to quickly detect the virus, we can swiftly launch a rapid response and protect children from the debilitating impact of the disease.” 

What is Polio?

Polio is a highly transmissible virus, commonly spread through contaminated water or food or via the stool of an infected person. It is also said to spread through nasal or oral secretions. This virus mainly affects children under five years. 

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), most people infected with Polio show no symptoms at all.

However, some mild symptoms such as sore throat, fever, fatigue, headache, nausea, or stomach ache can be spotted in some people and last for about two to five days. 

Paralytic Polio occurs in a very small percentage of cases only. It can cause paralysis of some body parts and become fatal; for example, if the breathing muscles become paralyzed, they lead to the death of a person.

Poliovirus usually stays in the gut, but if it spreads to other parts of the body, it can cause more severe symptoms affecting the brain and spinal cord. 

Furthermore, there are three types of Polio, and type 2 is considered eradicated. Vaccination is the best protection as there is no cross-protection if a person has been infected with one type. Wild Polio is a virus that occurs naturally and circulates the population.

However, a small number of paralytic polio cases have been caused by the oral polio vaccine, which is still used in some regions because of its cheap availability. 

It is said by WHO that once all the wild Polio has been eradicated, the oral polio vaccine will no longer be used, and therefore there will be less chance of infections through vaccinations.

Edited by: Mahi Gupta

Published by: Vishakha Verma