By Sylvia Chebet
Health experts are seeking to unravel the mystery of the suspected polio cases coming on the heels of a vaccination drive that concluded on July 12.
“The signs and symptoms are polio-like, so we don't want to speculate. It could be Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP), but if it's true that it is polio, the question will then be: 'how effective have our campaigns been?' We have run these campaigns three times in a row," Maziko Matemba, the Executive Director for Health and Rights Education Programme (HREP Malawi), told TRT Afrika.
Acute Flaccid Paralysis is defined by the acute onset of weakness or paralysis, with reduced muscle tone in children. Polio is considered to be one of its main causes. The ministry of health has monitored 316 cases of the syndrome in 2023.
The investigations will seek to ascertain whether the 17 suspected polio cases are positive, or not. The probe also aims to establish whether the patients had received polio vaccine.
“If the final confirmation indicates that it's not polio, we still have to be vigilant. Do we have a new emergency condition coming up, and where are they transmitted from?” Matemba poses, adding that: “At the end of the day, it's a condition. It means 17 people in Malawi at the moment are suffering with this condition. It can be any other viral infection."
Catch-up campaign
Malawi launched a massive polio campaign following wild polio incidence in 2022, which came after 30 years of being polio-free. The recent drive which ended on July 12, reached more than eight million children, representing 90.7% of the country’s under-15s, according to the ministry.
“We are also doing surveillance on children below 15 years to pick out those exhibiting an onset of paralysis. Early detection will ensure they are accorded proper healthcare,” Arnold M’ndalira, the Zomba District Office spokesperson, said in a statement.
"As a district, we feel every child is at risk since Zomba was one of the regions affected by Cyclone Freddy, which destroyed sanitation facilities. Faecal matter could possibly transmit polio," he added.
Malawi's health system has been heavily impacted by the cyclone, a cholera outbreak and Covid-19.
