Sudan to launch mass polio vaccination after outbreak

Sudan is preparing a mass vaccination campaign against polio after an outbreak, the UN said Friday, days after the declaration of the eradication of wild poliovirus in Africa, AFP reports. 

On Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) celebrated the announcement that Africa was free of cases of the wild virus that causes the crippling disease, a landmark in a decades-long campaign to eradicate it.

The 13 cases in Sudan are derived from a vaccine, which can take place in rare cases when the weakened virus in the vaccine mutates, a problem in countries with low immunisation rates and poor sanitation, health experts say.

"This is the first polio outbreak in Sudan in more than a decade, and has affected nine states across the country," the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan said.

The first case was recorded on August 9, and areas affected include the war-ravaged western region of Darfur, it said.

"At least 13 cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus have been confirmed," it added.

The Sudanese health ministry, alongside UN agencies, is planning to vaccinate five million children aged under five.

"Although Africa was recently declared free of the wild poliovirus... vaccine-derived polio persists and poses a threat to many countries," the statement said.

"Neighbouring Ethiopia, Central African Republic and Chad also reported cases, which puts more risks on Sudan, especially in the Darfur region, due to border movements."

News.Az 

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