The Ministry of Health (MoH) has announced plans to launch the third phase of the polio vaccination campaign, targeting the high-risk counties of Mandera, Wajir, and Garissa.
The Ministry will collaborate with county governments and other partners to curb the spread of the disease following a recent outbreak.
“The current polio outbreak is attributed to importation from a neighboring country and suboptimal routine immunization coverages in several counties, putting all children at risk of polio disease,” stated the Ministry through a statement issued by Health Principal Secretary (PS) Mary Muriuki on Saturday
Initially scheduled for November 2023, the vaccination campaign was delayed due to heavy rainfall in the three counties.
Consequently, the campaign is now set to take place from January 27 to January 31, 2024. It will be targeting 755,011 children under 5 years old and an additional 238,447 children aged between 5 and 15 years in Fafi and Dadaab sub-counties, as well as all refugee camps in Garissa.
PS Muriuki emphasized that the three counties were selected for the campaign as they have been identified as high-risk areas.
However this does not mean that children in other counties are not at risk. As such, the Ministry has requested any parent or caregiver who notices a child display a sudden onset of weakness of hands or legs or both to report the same to the nearest health facility.
MoH has also urged parents and caregivers to ensure their children are available for vaccination during the campaign.
About Polio
The World Health Organization, WHO, describes Polio as a highly infectious disease caused by a virus. Polio invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours.
The virus is transmitted by person-to-person spread mainly through the faecal-oral route or, less frequently, by a common vehicle (for example, contaminated water or food) and multiplies in the intestine.
Initial symptoms are fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness of the neck and pain in the limbs. One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis (usually in the legs).
Among those paralysed, 5–10% die when their breathing muscles become immobilized.
Polio mainly affects children under 5 years of age. However, anyone of any age who is unvaccinated can contract the disease.
There is no cure for polio, it can only be prevented. Polio vaccine, given multiple times, can protect a child for life.
