The discovery of an infectious virus in parts of Nairobi has dealt a major blow to Kenya’s effort to fully fight polio. The killer virus, poliovirus type 2 (VDPV2), discovered in Somalia two months ago, has now been found in a sewage sample in the city. As per the World Health Organisation [WHO], no cases of polio have been discovered or children reported paralysed in Kenya but children are at a high risk of contracting the virus. WHO added that response activities were underway and neighbouring countries had been alerted to strengthen their surveillance to assess their immunity.
“Investigations are currently ongoing to determine the source and origin of this virus, where it initially emerged and where it moved to. However, it is clear that two countries in the Horn of Africa are currently affected, and the overriding priority is to stop this virus in the known affected areas and prevent it from spreading further,” said. The world health body also pointed out that there are various challenges to ensure that the virus is stopped from spreading such as the inaccessibility of children for vaccination over extended periods of time and high levels of population movement in and out of the infected region/s.
WHO in 2015 had urged the Catholic Church in Kenya to drop its call on Kenyans to boycott the polio vaccination campaign saying the vaccine is safe. WHO had said the vaccines were manufactured and procured to the highest standards and safety and there was no reason to doubt their safety. Polio enters the nervous system and causes irreversible paralysis in hours. It mainly affects children whose immunity to diseases is relatively weak. The last polio outbreak in Kenya was in 2013 when 14 cases were reported and among them, two children died. The Ministry of Health said that the outbreak was successfully controlled after several rounds of vaccination campaigns.