Doctors sound alarm over fresh polio attack

By Elizabeth Mwai

Doctors have raised the red flag over the resurgence of polio.

Health experts have warned that the country is not safe from a fresh outbreak of the debilitating disease.

They also revealed that about 300,000 children are not vaccinated during routine immunisation.

Unicef Chief of Health Sanjiv Kumar said yesterday that in spite of rapid response and two rounds of anti-polio campaigns, the virus was still circulating.

"The latest was detected on April 19, raising doubts on the quality and coverage during the campaigns," said Dr Kumar.

Reported polio cases have risen from two in February, to eight in March and now 13.

Speaking during the launch of the third round of polio immunisation campaign at a city hotel yesterday, Kumar expressed concern that there was a downward trend in immunisation coverage.

He said ten of 13 children diagnosed with the Wild Polio Virus in Turkana District had not been immunised. In February, a polio outbreak reported in the district left 13 children paralysed.

Unicef challenged the country to overcome the obstacles of immunisation in the hard-to-reach areas, which are mainly susceptible to disease importation.

Boost coverage

Public Health and Sanitation Director Shahnaaz Sharif announced plans to boost coverage of immunisation campaigns against polio.

Dr Sharif said vaccination sites would stay open at weekends and public holidays.

"The Government is to blame for low immunisation coverage, but when we ask people to bring their children they do not. Everybody has a role to play to lock out polio," said Sharif.

He said the polio outbreak was due to low immunisation in Turkana District and cross-border movement. The World Health Organization (WHO) Head of Expanded Programme on Immunisation Mohammed Duale urged the Government to address the issue of vaccine stock.

WHO has reported that the Wild Polio Virus in Kenya was exported from Sudan.

The Government has identified 42 high-risk districts in Rift Valley, Central and Nairobi provinces.

Polio cases

Health experts have expressed concern that the polio outbreak threatens to undo the gains made since 1984.

The first polio cases reported early this year were of two children aged two and four respectively.

Three emergency campaigns a month after the other have been conducted in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia to stem the spread.

Kenya faces increased risk of polio importation from its northern neighbours where new cases of polio resurgence have been reported.

 

 

Read all about: Doctors Unicef immunisation

 

 

---