Ethiopia : in six months time 14 Polio cases detected
by Dagnachew Teklu, The Daily Monitor.
World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that the additional polio cases were detected between February and July 2005 in various region of the country, particularly in areas where polio viruses has been detected in the past years.
The additional 14 polio cases were observed in children aged between 11 years and eight months in Tigray, Amhara and Oromia regions of Ethiopia.
It is to be recalled that on 25 February 2005; two wild polio viruses were also confirmed from the stool specimens of two children under 3 years old residing in Shire and Humera towns of Tigray Region in Northern Ethiopia. The two viruses are said to have come from Sudan.
“Following notification of the polio importation in February 2005, the first phase (March 2005) sub national immunization days covered a wide perimeter of the country where routine vaccination coverage is generally lower,” WHO said.
“These were the first cases of polio in Ethiopia in four years the last being in January 2001. Both cases are wild polio virus type 1 and genetically linked to the polio virus circulating in neighboring Sudan,” WHO said.
The WHO Ethiopia in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and its partners is working on the containment of the virus circulation as well as eradication.
WHO indicated that Ethiopia declared a public health emergency and conducted two rounds of nationwide polio campaigns targeting all children under 5 years old in April and May 2005.
“A third nationwide polio campaign was completed from July 29-August 2, 2005. Analysis of post campaign evaluation data showed very good coverage in all parts of the country,” WHO added.
Around 15 million children were said to have been vaccinated during the above mentioned period throughout the country.