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Tendai Gukutikwa
Health Reporter
CHILDREN under the age of five in Manicaland will soon receive polio vaccines as part of the fourth round of the poliovirus supplementary immunisation campaign by the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MOHCC).
The campaign will take place from October 10 to 13, and will involve health workers visiting crèches, primary schools, homes, bus stops and other places where children gather to administer the vaccines.
In an interview on Wednesday, Manicaland provincial health promotions officer, Mrs Agnes Mugumbate said the four-day campaign is an extension of an ongoing exercise that started in 2022.
Recently, neighbouring Mozambique recorded an outbreak in polio, thus prompting countries in the region to conduct supplementary polio campaigns for protection.
“To protect children under five years, MOHCC is conducting rounds of the Oral Polio Vaccination (OPV) campaign, targeting all provinces in the country. The first two rounds were conducted in 2022. The third round was in May this year and this is the fourth round.
“However, having received the first three doses does not mean that the child should refrain from receiving this particular dose. Every child should receive the dose since it is an extended dose of the ones they have already received,” she said.
Mrs Mugumbate said to ensure that every child is reached, door-to-door campaigns will also be conducted.
She said these will complement the campaigns that are also happening at health facilities across the province.
“We will visit schools and creches to immunise Early Childhood Development learners and reach out to areas with low vaccine uptake. We will also educate parents who are reluctant to vaccinate their children about the risks of poliovirus.
“This is a highly contagious disease that spreads through contact with an infected person’s human waste or respiratory droplets. It can cause paralysis or even death. A person can be infectious and pass on the virus before showing any symptoms,” she said.
She said the polio vaccine will be administered to all eligible children, thereby sustaining routine vaccination at fixed sites.
“We will also conduct advocacy, communication and social mobilisation activities for the polio campaigns, while raising awareness about the disease and its vaccine,” she said.
There are three valid types of poliovirus which are Type 1, Type 2 and Type 3.
Mrs Mugumbate said people need to be protected against the three types of the virus in order to prevent the disease.
“Type 2 Wild Poliovirus was declared eradicated in 2015. Type 1 Wild Poliovirus was also eradicated in 2019. Only Type 1 Wild Poliovirus remains. There are two vaccines used to protect people against the disease and these are oral polio vaccine and activated poliovirus vaccine which is given through injections,” she said.
Southern-Africa sub-region has confirmed poliovirus outbreaks recently, with the first being confirmed in Malawi last year. This was followed by reports in Mozambique.
To date, Zimbabwe has conducted a comprehensive polio risk assessment leading to the development of a response plan.
“The key strategy in the response plan is to join other countries in the Sub-Saharan region synchronized Polio Supplemental Immunization Activities (SIA) in July and August 2022. This strengthened routine immunisation and surveillance including the establishment of environmental surveillance,” she said.
Polio has no cure and can only be primarily prevented with vaccination.
Secondary preventative measures include always using the toilet and avoiding open defecation, always washing hands with soap and clean water after using the toilet, changing a child’s nappies and before preparing and eating food.
Fruits and vegetables should also be washed using safe and clean water.
Water should be boiled or chlorinated before drinking and the environment should be kept clean.
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