Wild poliovirus case: Infected child began to experience paralysis, says WHO

Polio is highly infectious and mostly affects children younger than five. There is no cure, and it can only be prevented by immunization. (Representative image)

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and Mozambique declared an outbreak of wild poliovirus type 1 after confirming that a child in the African country had contracted the disease.

This is the second imported case of wild poliovirus in southern Africa this year-- and the country’s first since 1992 -- following an outbreak in Malawi in mid-February, the WHO stated.

The virus was found in a child who began experiencing the onset of paralysis in March. According to WHO, the genomic sequencing analysis indicates that the newly-confirmed case is linked to a strain that had been circulating in Pakistan in 2019, similar to the case reported in Malawi earlier this year.

“The detection of another case of wild poliovirus in Africa is greatly concerning, even if it’s unsurprising given the recent outbreak in Malawi. However, it shows how dangerous this virus is and how quickly it can spread,” he said.

“We are supporting southern African governments to step up the polio fight including carrying out large-scale, effective vaccination campaigns to halt the virus and protect children from its damaging impact.”

Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, the deputy director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, told The Guardian: “When sequenced, that particular case had very close similarities to the case that had been reported in Malawi some weeks back.”

Further investigations are underway in Mozambique to determine the extent of the risk posed by the new wild poliovirus case and the targeted responses needed.

In February, Malawi declared its first case of wild poliovirus in 30 years, when a three-year old girl in the Lilongwe district was paralysed as a result of her infection.

Globally, wild poliovirus is endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the WHO stated. Polio is highly infectious and mostly affects children younger than five. There is no cure, and it can only be prevented by immunization.