Oct 22, 2020(Nyamilepedia) — South Sudan records 15 new polio cases with 14 of them coming from Bahr el Gazal and 1 case from Torit.
“We have 15 cases in the whole country, 14 of which are in the Greater Bahr el Ghazal region,” George Awzenio Legge, manager of the expanded program on immunization at the ministry said on Wednesday.
According to the ministry of health, the reported cases include five in Warrap State, seven in Western Bahr el Ghazal State and one each in Northern.
The emergence of the polio cases has prompted the ministry to launch a vaccination campaign which is set to begin at the end of October.
“Currently, the ministry and partners are planning a polio vaccination response to contain the spread of the disease,” Legge said.
“This is a vaccine derived type, the cVDPV2, circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus Type 2. It’s a vaccine caused,” Legge noted.
The manager of the expanded program on immunization at the ministry said that the ministry is targeting to reach all the children in every corner of South Sudan, at least to stop this outbreak.
George Awzenio stated that the campaign will target 1.5 million children under 5 years in 46 counties of seven states.
“We are taking counties from Western Equatoria, Unity and some from Upper Nile states,” he added.
Polio is a viral disease that is transmitted from person to person, mainly through a faecal-oral route or, less frequently, through contaminated water or food.
WHO says while there is no cure for polio, the disease can be prevented through the administration of a simple and effective vaccine.
According to the ministry, the new polio cases are a setback to South Sudan.
WHO had announced back in August that South Sudan has joined the group of countries which can proudly say they are free of the wild poliovirus.
