By Kudakwashe Pembere
Having detected some cases of vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV) in Harare, another has been identified in Sanyati, a district in Mashonaland West prompting Zimbabwe’s health authorities to activate an emergency vaccination campaign for children below 10 years of age this month.
The vaccination blitz intends to vaccinate 4.2 million children across the country.
Addressing journalists on Friday,Deputy Health and Child Care Minister Honorable Sleiman Timios Kwidini said through their surveillance mechanisms they identified a case which was confirmed via laboratory tests.
“The Ministry of Health and Child Care wishes to inform the public that it has confirmed through laboratory tests the presence of a type 2 circulating poliovirus variant in environmental samples that were collected towards the end of 2023 from sewage sites covering Budiriro, Mbare and Mufakose catchments in Harare metropolitan province.
“In addition and through intensified poliomyelitis disease surveillance in the country, a similar circulating polio virus variant has been detected in a 10-year-old child from Sanyati District of Mashonaland, West Province, who presented to us with an acute paralysis and had laboratory tests done for confirmation,” he said. “The virus that was detected in these occasions is a rare type of poliovirus that can occur when the weakened live virus in the oral polio vaccine (OCV) mutates overtime and becomes able to circulate in the community. Hence, it is referred to as circulating vaccine-derived polio virus type 2 (cVDPV).”
He said upon detection of the initial case last year, they notified the World Health Organization (WHO) which states that a vaccine-derived poliovirus as a well-documented strain of poliovirus mutated from the strain originally contained in Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV).
He also said they activated a polio incident management system and the appointment of an incident manager for a coordinated outbreak response conducting thorough investigations, intensifying Polio surveillance throughout the country and planning for emergency nationwide Polio vaccination campaigns to ensure that transmission is stopped rapidly.
The vaccination campaign is targeting the under 10s, according to the Ministry.
“The Ministry further informs the public that two rounds of emergency national polio vaccination campaign targeting all children below 10-year-old age have been rescheduled for February and March 2024.
The detailed polio risk analysis conducted by the Ministry identified the 10-year-old age group as having a higher risk to these type 2 polio viruses since vaccines targeting these types were stopped globally in 2015 after global eradication.
“All children below 10 years are being targeted with an initial two rounds of novel oral polio vaccine to quickly boost their protection from this type of polio virus,” he said.
The first round commences on 20 February and the Health Ministry will be working alongside the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.
“The first round is scheduled between 20 February and 1 March 2024, while the second round is scheduled between 19 and 29 March 2024 for all provinces.
“The emergence vaccination campaign which will be conducted in close collaboration with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education targets to vaccinate and protect a total of 4.2 million children in each of the two rounds.
“The vaccines for both round one and two have already been received in the country and pre-positioned in all provinces and cities.
“Vaccination will be done through deployment of house-to-house and mobile vaccination teams, in addition to vaccination at all health facilities during the campaign days,” Kwidini said.
Deputy Health Minister Kwidini advised guardians and caregivers of children to get their children vaccinated.
“Given the contagious nature of circulating poliovirus and their capacity to evolve over time that causes serious diseases and debilitating paralysis, the Ministry strongly encourages all parents and caregivers of children to ensure that all children below 10 years of age are vaccinated against polio and protected. Vaccination remains the most effective way to stop and protect children from severe disease,” he said.
He said the Health Ministry is working closely with other African countries that have since reported polio outbreaks.
“For the record, Zimbabwe is not alone in this predicament. Several other countries in the region have also detected similar poliovirus through environmental sampling and routine polio disease surveillance. “And these include Botswana, Burundi, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Zambia. We are collaborating closely with these countries through regular coordination calls and meetings, and where feasible, we conduct synchronized vaccination campaigns in response to these threats,” Kwidini said.
Deputy Health Minister Kwidini lauded Zimbabwe’s technical and funding partners for supporting the Zimbabwean Government in the fight against polio.
“On behalf of the government of Zimbabwe, I would like to acknowledge technical and funding partners who are complementing government efforts in the fight against polio in the country.
“These include World Health Organization, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, UNICEF, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Rotary Club, Crown Agents, and others, to mention a few. The support is appreciated,” he said.
