'Ghana is free from polio'
Ghana has attained a polio-free status in line with the requirement of the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Programme Manager of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation, Dr Kwadwo Odei Antwi-Agyei, has disclosed.
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He explained that Ghana’s polio-free status meant that polio was no longer in the country, adding that for the past five years, there had not been any recorded case of wild polio.
Polio is a virus which causes fever, vomiting and muscle stiffness. If the nerves are affected, it can cause permanent paralysis. Polio can also paralyse the breathing and swallowing muscles, leading to death.
By WHO requirement, a country is said to have attained a polio-free status if it has not recorded any case of polio for three consecutive years.
In addition, it should have plans to contain the disease within six months, should there be an importation.
Dr Antwi-Agyei, who disclosed this to the Junior Graphic, stated that the country’s polio-free status was a good sign because it meant the disease was no longer a problem in the country.
“We have made a lot of strides in the fight against polio. The highest number of cases of the disease recorded was in 1998 and it was 23. It reduced until 2003 when eight cases were recorded in six regions of the country. Between 2004 and 2007, there were no cases until 2008 when eight cases of the disease were recorded from the northern region,” he disclosed.
He was, however, quick to add that despite the achievement, Ghana alone could not say it had eradicated polio, explaining that for eradication to occur, it meant that for three conservative years, there should be no recorded case of the disease globally.
Dr Antwi-Agyei warned that children who were not immunised against polio risked either dying, becoming disabled or getting infected with the disease.
“A child needs between 10-15 doses of the polio vaccine by the age of five years to become fully protected,” he added.
Commenting on the recent nationwide polio immunisation, the programme manager stated that they were able to vaccinate 5.6 million children below five years, which was an excess of the 5.4 million children targeted.
However, he explained that though they exceeded their target, some of the children in the targeted age group were missed because they were not in the house when those administering the vaccines visited their homes.
By Augustina Tawiah / Junior Graphic / Ghana