Somalia celebrates 3 years polio-free: WHO urges continued caution

Mogadishu, 14 August 2017 – An event attended by the President of Somalia, parliamentarians, delegates from the Somali Ministry of Health, World Health Organization and UNICEF, was held in Mogadishu to mark a milestone occasion: 3 years since the detection of the last case of wild poliovirus in the country.  Speaking at the event, WHO’s Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Dr Mahmoud Fikri, applauded Somalia’s efforts to ward off the crippling and highly infectious virus but urged continued caution.  “The absence of cases of polio in Somalia today is testament to the leadership, commitment and hard work of the Government and people of Somalia, and the effective support and collaboration of many partners,” Fikri said. “We need to remember however, that Somalia is at risk of reinfection and we must stay vigilant,” he said. Somalia stopped endemic poliovirus transmission in 2002 but has been twice affected by importations of the virus. The outbreak that erupted in the Horn of Africa 3 years ago paralysed close to 200 children. Somalia was at the epicenter and most affected, accounting for more than 90% of these cases. “The polio programme in Somalia has fought hard to raise population immunity levels [against polio] across the country and to improve surveillance system sensitivity to pick up traces of the disease,” said Fikri. “This is commendable, but there are still gaps we must continue to work to address,” he added. Insecurity and ina...
Source: WHO EMRO News - Category: Middle East Health Source Type: news