Govt launches 2nd polio blitz
THE Health and Child Care ministry says the first round of the polio vaccination campaign using novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (NOPV2) launched a few weeks ago was oversubscribed.
This has, forced the ministry to launch yesterday the second round of the vaccination exercise which will run until Friday.
Ministry spokesperson, Donald Mujiri said at least 4,6 million children below 10 years had been vaccinated by February 23.
“Trained health teams will visit homes, schools and markets across the country to administer the novel polio vaccine directly to children under 10 years old,” Mujiri said.
“The Health and Child Care ministry calls on all parents and caregivers to ensure their children are vaccinated during the second round of the NOPV2 campaign, and also to ask health workers any questions they may have about the vaccine.
“We urge the public to continue practicing good hygiene, including frequent hand washing, to prevent the spread of polio and other diseases.”
The vaccination campaign is being conducted in close collaboration with the Primary and Secondary Education ministry with a target to vaccinate and protect a total of 4 206 013 children.
Last month, government confirmed the outbreak of a Type 2 poliovirus variant in the country, prompting an emergency polio vaccination campaign. The country had been on high alert after neighbouring Mozambique and Malawi confirmed polio outbreaks.
According to Unicef, Zimbabwe last reported a wild poliovirus case in 1986. Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease which largely affects children under five years of age.
The virus is transmitted by person-to-person, spread mainly through the faecal-oral route or, less frequently, by a common vehicle such as contaminated water or food.
Initial symptoms are fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting as well as stiffness of the neck and pain in limbs.
One in 200 infections leads to permanent paralysis. Among those paralysed, 5–10% die when their breathing muscles become immobilised.