Polio Vaccination Campaign for New Poliovirus Variant in Red Sea State
moatinoon
The World Health Organization stated that the Sudan Federal Ministry of Health will launch a vaccination campaign against polio in April 2024 due to the emergence of a new variant of poliovirus type 2 reported in January 2024.
In a statement on Monday, it was explained that this variant was discovered in six samples taken from sewage in Port Sudan locality in the Red Sea State.
Dr. Tezla Damti, Head of Health and Nutrition at UNICEF Sudan Office, said, "The ongoing conflict is eroding the substantial gains Sudan has made in childhood vaccinations."
He emphasized that "millions of displaced and mobile children cannot be protected from life-threatening diseases like polio, but they can be prevented through vaccination."
This new detection comes after 14 months of Sudan announcing the outbreak of a different variant of poliovirus type 2, which was discovered in a four-year-old child in West Darfur in October 2022.
Despite no campaigns being conducted since April 2023 due to the ongoing conflict, poliovirus surveillance has been strengthened through intensive acute flaccid paralysis case searching, the most common indicator of polio infection, and sewage surveillance to rapidly detect any presence of the virus.
Dr. Dalia El Tayeb, General Director of Primary Health Care at the Sudan Federal Ministry of Health, stated, "Since the escalation of the conflict, the Federal Ministry of Health has closely worked with the World Health Organization and UNICEF to develop and implement a national emergency action plan for polio. This new detection has doubled our commitment to protecting the future of our children. We are working, in collaboration with partners, to ensure that every child under the age of five in accessible areas receives the polio vaccine, followed by special plans for hard-to-reach areas."
Despite no children being paralyzed due to the new variant, the detection of poliovirus in sewage samples poses a significant risk to children across the country. The collapse of health services, including routine immunizations, leads to a significant increase in the spread of epidemic diseases, amid reported outbreaks of cholera, dengue fever, malaria, and measles in multiple states.
Dr. Mohamed Tawfiq Mashal, Team Leader for Polio and Immunization at the World Health Organization Sudan Office, said, "Despite extremely challenging circumstances, our health workers have continued poliovirus surveillance, allowing us to discover this new strain of poliovirus and respond to it in a timely manner."
Polio is a highly contagious, fast-spreading disease that mostly affects children under the age of five, with no cure, but it can be prevented through vaccination.
