Ministry of Health has declared an outbreak of wild polio virus type 1 after a case was detected in a  three year old girl in the capital Lilongwe.

According to World Health Organization Africa, this is the first case of wild poliovirus in Africa in more than five years.

Laboratory analysis shows that the strain detected in Malawi is linked to the one that has been circulating in Sindh Province in Pakistan.

World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa Dr Matshidiso Moeti said, “As long as wild polio exists anywhere in the world all countries remain at risk of importation of the virus,”.

“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.”

A statement from the Ministry of Health indicates that Malawi has sustained good coverages of all its vaccine antigen above 80% now for two decades and polio vaccine is no exception.

Like many other countries in the world, Malawi provides polio vaccine that targets Polio virus type 1 and type 3 following the eradication of Polio virus type 2 many years back.

WHO is supporting the Malawi health authorities to carry out a risk assessment and outbreak response, including supplemental immunization. Surveillance of the disease is also being ramped up in neighboring countries.

Africa was declared free of indigenous wild polio in August 2020 after eliminating all forms of wild polio from the region.

Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus. It invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis within hours.

The virus is transmitted from person-to-person mainly through the faecal-oral route or, less frequently, through contaminated water or food, and multiplies in the intestine.

While there is no cure for polio, the disease can be prevented through administration of a simple and effective vaccine.