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In Malawi, Africa, a child has been infected with the polio virus type 1, which may lead to irreversible paralysis. It is the first case discovered in Africa in more than five years, according to the World Health Organization. Type 1 is the only wild variant still circulating in the world, after two other types were eradicated in 2015.
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jvhSource: BELGIAN
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Malawian authorities warned that the PVS1 strain had been found in a child in the capital, Lilongwe. Lab tests show a link to the strain circulating in Pakistan’s Sindh province. The virus variant is still endemic in two countries: Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan.
“Since this is an imported case from Pakistan, this finding has no impact on Africa’s certification as a polio-free region,” the WHO said. The continent was granted that status in August 2020, when all forms of the wild virus were eradicated.
The last case of wild polio virus was reported in 2016, in northern Nigeria. Non-wild forms of the virus are still reported, but are much less serious.
Polio, an infection caused by the polio virus, is a disease that mainly affects young children and can lead to irreversible paralysis. There is no treatment for the disease, but there is a vaccine. In our country, the polio vaccine is the only mandatory vaccination.
The wild polio virus can be passed from person to person if small amounts of feces from an infected person end up in food or drinking water, for example when someone with the disease does not wash their hands properly.
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