Kenya will launch an emergency polio vaccination program on August 24, weeks after polio cases were detection in the country’s northeast.
The vaccination drive will prioritize 10 high-risk counties, including Garissa county, the site of the most recent outbreak, and will target 7.4 million children under the age of five.
According to Dr. Patrick Amoth, director-general of Kenya’s health department, 3% of Kenyan children are believed to be polio-unimmunized.
In 2014, the most prevalent strain of polio, known as wild poliovirus, was eradicated in Kenya.
However, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a warning in July stating that Kenya faces a high risk of circulating vaccine-derived polio, a form of the virus that affects communities that have not received enough vaccinations.
The Kenyan refugee camps, which are frequently overcrowded, have poor sanitation, high rates of malnutrition, and frequent population movements with Somalia, which has experienced recent outbreaks of circulating vaccine-derived polio, are where the polio risk is highest, according to the WHO.
The national vaccination program is anticipated to increase Kenya’s polio vaccination rate and make vaccines more accessible.
Source-BBC
