Photo: © Reuters / Wayne Conradie)
Let's try to be a bit positive about what I am going to write next: a medical state of emergency has been declared in Angola's northern border region of Uige after a 14-month-old boy tested positive for polio. It's true the situation gives us no reason to celebrate. Quite the opposite: the child had not been vaccinated and was tested for the virus after he became paralysed in one of his legs. Uige lays in the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, where nine polio cases have been reported this year. The child lived in a remote village and medical officials walked for three days through the bush to bring the sample for testing.
The only positive thing about all this dramatic story is: surveillance seems to be working! And that's quite important if we want to eradicate polio. According to UNICEF Angola, there were 33 cases of polio in the country in 2010 and this year so far there were only four. This is remarkable, specially knowing there was a mass immunization drive in Angola to vaccinate all children under five (see link below). "So Angola is well on its way to interrupting the polio transmission and that's why they're making extremely strong efforts to control the epidemic", says the UNICEF Representative in Angola, Dr. Koenraad Vanormelingen.
About one year ago, on November 4, 2010, a polio outbreak in the Republic of Congo was confirmed. The first vaccination response came just two weeks later with a wave of mass polio immunization campaigns. The first campaign targeted 3 million people of all ages and took place not only in the Republic of Congo but also in 16 districts in the neighbouring province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and over the border in Angola. This unusual outbreak of polio was primarily claiming victims amongst young adults, so everybody needed to be immunized irrespective of their past immunization status. This case illustrates the quick and yet planned response the battle against polio need.
More campaigns like this will certainly happen until polio is finally declared to be eradicated. Step by step things will happen. UNICEF has been doing a remarkable job in Angola concerning immunization against polio. The outcomes start to be visible. But let's not forget: "As long as there is a single case of wild polio virus anywhere in the world, any unimmunised child is at risk." (Dr. Koenraad Vanormelingen to AP news agency).
read more: Angola steps up immunization drive in its efforts to eradicate polioThe only positive thing about all this dramatic story is: surveillance seems to be working! And that's quite important if we want to eradicate polio. According to UNICEF Angola, there were 33 cases of polio in the country in 2010 and this year so far there were only four. This is remarkable, specially knowing there was a mass immunization drive in Angola to vaccinate all children under five (see link below). "So Angola is well on its way to interrupting the polio transmission and that's why they're making extremely strong efforts to control the epidemic", says the UNICEF Representative in Angola, Dr. Koenraad Vanormelingen.
About one year ago, on November 4, 2010, a polio outbreak in the Republic of Congo was confirmed. The first vaccination response came just two weeks later with a wave of mass polio immunization campaigns. The first campaign targeted 3 million people of all ages and took place not only in the Republic of Congo but also in 16 districts in the neighbouring province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and over the border in Angola. This unusual outbreak of polio was primarily claiming victims amongst young adults, so everybody needed to be immunized irrespective of their past immunization status. This case illustrates the quick and yet planned response the battle against polio need.
More campaigns like this will certainly happen until polio is finally declared to be eradicated. Step by step things will happen. UNICEF has been doing a remarkable job in Angola concerning immunization against polio. The outcomes start to be visible. But let's not forget: "As long as there is a single case of wild polio virus anywhere in the world, any unimmunised child is at risk." (Dr. Koenraad Vanormelingen to AP news agency).
read more: Angola polio outbreak threatens neighbors: WHO
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