Angola Mounts Polio Eradication Campaign

Angola Mounts Polio Eradication Campaign

A mass polio immunisation campaign has commenced in Angola in a bid to vaccinate all children under the age of five.

The campaign, to deliver over 7 million vaccine doses, is part of a series of programmes to stop a polio outbreak that has paralysed 24 children this year.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says previous attempts to prevent the virus from circulating failed because too few children were vaccinated.

The virus can only be stopped if all children receive the vaccine.

The WHO estimates that in some areas more than a third of at risk children have not been immunised.

Greatest risks from prolonged outbreak

This outbreak in Angola started in 2007 and the WHO now considers it the greatest risk to Africa 's polio eradication efforts.

Polio is a highly infectious virus which mainly infects young children.

It is transmitted through contaminated food and water and once it enters the intestine it multiplies and can spread into the nervous system.

International implication

This outbreak, despite previous vaccination campaigns, has now spread to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The WHO say there is a high risk of the virus spreading further still.

Oliver Rosenbauer, spokesperson for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative at the WHO said: " Children across Angola , and indeed Africa , will continue to be paralysed by this awful virus, and it's completely needless because it could so easily be prevented…The outbreak of course also has international implications. It has already this year spread to DR Congo, and we know that a past outbreak in 2006 spread to Namibia as well."

Good news

He also expresses optimism on making Africa polio-free

"But the good news is that we know this outbreak could be stopped very rapidly, if these upcoming immunisation campaigns are effectively implemented, this outbreak can be stopped in its tracks even by the end of the year. Africa is on the verge of being polio-free - and it can be rapidly and realistically achieved.'' He said.

Another immunisation campaign is planned for the end of the month.

BBC/Yinka