Diseases
WHO: First polio outbreak in years in Africa
A child’s finger is marked after receiving a polio vaccine. Photo: Nicholas Kajoba/XinHua/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Malawi reports Africa’s first polio outbreak in several years. The World Health Organization now wants to support Malawi’s health authorities so that the case remains isolated and does not spread.
In Africa, the landlocked country of Malawi has reported the first polio outbreak on the continent in several years.
The wild type 1 poliovirus was discovered in a child in the city of Lilongwe, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Laboratory tests have shown that the virus was apparently imported from Pakistan.
“As long as wild polio exists anywhere in the world, every country is at risk of importing the virus,” said WHO Regional Director Matshidiso Moeti. The organization will support the local health authorities in the state in south-east Africa to ensure that the case remains isolated and does not spread.
Polio is a contagious infectious disease and can cause paralysis and death. Except for Afghanistan and Pakistan, all countries in the world had conquered wild polioviruses. In Africa, the last such case was registered in Nigeria in 2016.