By Ebi Kesiena
The first wild poliovirus case in Africa in more than five years has been detected in a young child in Malawi, the World Health Organization said.
The Malawian health authorities have declared an outbreak of wild poliovirus type 1 after a case was detected in the capital Lilongwe, the WHO said.
Laboratory analysis showed that the detected strain is linked to one that has been circulating in Sindh Province in Pakistan. Polio remains endemic in Pakistan and its neighbour Afghanistan.
“As an imported case from Pakistan, this detection does not affect the African region’s wild poliovirus-free certification status,” the WHO said.
Africa was declared free of indigenous wild polio in August 2020 after eliminating all forms of wild polio. No polio cases had occurred on the continent for the past four years the threshold for eradication.
The WHO’s Africa regional director Matshidiso Moeti said in a statement that following the detection of wild polio in Malawi, we’re taking urgent measures to forestall its potential spread.
“Thanks to a high level of polio surveillance in the continent and the capacity to quickly detect the virus, we can swiftly launch a rapid response and protect children from the debilitating impact of this disease.”
The WHO said it was supporting Malawi in conducting a risk assessment and outbreak response, including extra vaccination, as surveillance of the disease is being stepped up in neighbouring countries.
