MOH declares public health emergency on polio
The Ministry of Health has declared a public health emergency following the detection of the poliovirus in a river in Koforidua.
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The Vaccine Derived Poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) was detected during a routine surveillance in the Nsukwao River in the New Juaben South Municipality in the Eastern Region.A statement by the ministry said collected environmental samples tested positive for the poliovirus, prompting it to initiate prompt actions to prevent an outbreak.
“The sample was collected on August 20 2024. The isolation result was obtained on September 3, 2024, as suspected polio and subsequently confirmed as cVDPV2 on September 5, 2024,” it said.
“This detection of environmental polio constitutes a Public Health Emergency,” it added.
The Polio Laboratory at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), which serves as the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Polio Laboratory, detected the virus through routine surveillance.
Advice
The ministry has, therefore, advised people to take necessary preventive measures to avoid contracting the disease.
The statement said, the ministry, in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and other partners, had initiated actions such as detailed field investigations to identify possible sources of infection, determination of the extent of geographical spread, risk assessment and potential for further spread, including transmission from human to human, among others.
It called on the public to observe improved personal hygiene and good sanitation practices such as washing hands often with soap under running water after using the toilet, before preparing or handling food and before eating or feeding a baby, among other measures, to prevent further spread.
Polio
Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that largely affects children under five years of age.
The virus is transmitted by person-to-person and spread mainly through the faecal-oral route, or less frequently, by a common vehicle such as contaminated water or food and multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis.
Wild poliovirus cases have decreased by over 99 per cent since 1988, from an estimated 350,000 cases in more than 125 endemic countries to six reported cases in 2021.
Of the three strains of wild poliovirus types one, two and three, type two was eradicated in 1999, while wild poliovirus type three was eradicated in 2020.
As of 2022, endemic wild poliovirus type one remained in two countries - Pakistan and Afghanistan.