Polio outbreak linked to strain from Somalia, says WHO expert
A health worker administers a polio vaccine.
What you need to know:
- Health minister Dr Jane Ruth Aceng says "we need to get rid of polio from the world and Ugandans need to work very hard for this to happen."
Ministry of Health says more than 3.2 million children have been vaccinated following polio outbreak in Mbale.
A senior scientist from the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said Uganda is still at high risk of polio outbreak and spread because of the large number of unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children.
Dr Annet Kisakye, the WHO national officer for the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), said the recent polio outbreak in Mbale City in May was caused by a strain linked to Somalia. She said although polio majorly causes lameness in children, it is known to kill adults.
“In Uganda, we have put in a lot to fight polio. We have done a lot of immunisation to wipe out polio. [But] Is Uganda safe in 2024? Unfortunately, not. Now the laboratory told us that that virus detected in Mbale City [in May] is linked to the virus in Somalia," she said.
"Polio is a virus which mutates. If it gets into an environment where children had not been vaccinated, it mutates and causes disease,” she explained.
Dr Kisakye told members of Rotary Uganda on Thursday night during the Commemoration of World Polio Day that there is a need to do more to reach the unvaccinated children to prevent outbreaks and spread.
“There is a presence of high numbers of unvaccinated (missed) children. We need to go an extra mile, we need to reach these high-risk mobile populations, and the refugees,” she added.
Ms Anne Nkutu, District 9213 governor of Rotary Uganda, said: “Rotary International's commitment of over $2 billion and countless volunteer hours has brought the world to the brink of eradicating polio. We are close to achieving a polio-free world, a triumph of collective action and dedication.”
Mr Daniel Ddamulira, the District 9214 governor nominee on the other hand called upon the government and communities to increase efforts for better vaccination coverage.
“On this occasion of World Polio Day, Rotary Uganda calls upon governments, communities, and individuals to join us in this historic fight. Let us unite to make history by ending polio once and for all. Together, we can create a future where no child lives in fear of polio paralysis,” he said.
Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, the health minister, revealed that following the detection of vaccine-derived polio in Mbale City, they went ahead to mount a very intensified and active case search and immunised children.
“We have not identified any new cases. We carried out a polio campaign in 49 local governments in the eastern region to ensure that we get rid of this polio. I want to thank the WHO for providing the vaccine together with Unicef which provided the deployment costs. It is not desirable to have polio. We must not relax, we need to get rid of polio from the world and Ugandans need to work very hard for this to happen,” she told district leaders and health officials in a separate meeting.
Dr Kisakye on the other hand said 3.2 million children were vaccinated in the campaign in Karamoja, Teso, Busoga, Bugisu, and Bukedi sub-regions, we reached 3.2 million children with at least the booster dose because there was an outbreak.
She said the vaccination was done jointly with the Kenyan government also vaccinating children in their country at the same time in October.
What she says...
"It is not desirable to have polio. We must not relax, we need to get rid of polio from the world and Ugandans need to work very hard for this to happen,’’ Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, the health minister.
