Nearly three million Malawian children will be vaccinated against Polio in a bid to stem a possible rising reoccurrence of the virus.
After a three-year old girl fell sick with the virus in what was the country’s first case of wild poliovirus in five years, the United Nations was alarmed by the situation and has made moves to stem the disease.
The Malawian government revealed the case a fortnight ago with tests conducted linking the strain to a Pakistani variant. Polio is still endemic in Pakistan.
The head of the United Nations children’s agency Rudolf Schwenk said on Thursday that the situation calls for concern.
“The resurgence of the wild poliovirus in Malawi … is cause for serious concern,” Schwenk said.
Polio, like other viruses has no cure but can be prevented with vaccination. It’s highly infectious and leads to total paralysis. The UN has assured Malawians that 6.9 million doses of Polio vaccines will be distributed in the country for children under the age of five.