We have won the polio battle, says Govt

HEALTH authorities are satisfied that they have successfully disrupted the transmission chain of the poliovirus and yesterday declared last week’s second mass vaccination drive a success.

Health Permanent Secretary Dr Kalumbi Shangula said preliminary estimates indicated that a national coverage rate of 102 per cent was achieved last week and that the high coverage rate has managed to disrupt the transmission chain. “As of today, we have recorded 236 suspected cases with 27 deaths.Twenty cases have been confirmed as polio cases,” Shangula told a media briefing in Windhoek.More than 100 of the 236 suspected cases have since been found not to be polio.Shangula said 90 per cent of the polio patients – and 85 per cent of those who died – were adults.Although the vaccination campaign for adults ended last week, Shangula said the authorities would continue to monitor the situation.Health authorities will meet in Windhoek today and tomorrow to discuss the challenges and successes of the first two rounds and to plan for the third round.The third round is only for children under the age of five and will be held from August 20 to 24.This will include trivalent oral polio and measles vaccinations, as well as vitamin A supplementation.Shangula said the high coverage achieved during the second round could be attributed to good preparations and organisation.No vaccine shortages were experienced at any vaccination points during last week’s campaign, as happened during the first round.The first polio case arrived at Windhoek’s Katutura Hospital from Aranos in the South on May 10.Up until then, Namibia had been polio free for 10 years.The last reported case had been in 1995.World Health Organisation Country Representative Dr Custodia Mandlhate said they had been in the final stages of declaring Namibia a polio-free country when the disease struck.”Now we are back to square one.Namibia must maintain its surveillance for the next three years and only then can the consideration start,” she said.The WHO helped Namibia by bringing in health experts to train people for the mass vaccination campaign, while Unicef flew in the drugs.Shangula said 1 118 vehicles were used to transport more than 7 000 people in 1 545 teams during round two of the vaccination campaign.Of the 1 118 vehicles, 655 were made available by community members.The total cost of the transport, food, materials, subsistence allowances, communication and facilities amounted to more than N$8,3 million.”As of today, we have recorded 236 suspected cases with 27 deaths.Twenty cases have been confirmed as polio cases,” Shangula told a media briefing in Windhoek.More than 100 of the 236 suspected cases have since been found not to be polio.Shangula said 90 per cent of the polio patients – and 85 per cent of those who died – were adults.Although the vaccination campaign for adults ended last week, Shangula said the authorities would continue to monitor the situation.Health authorities will meet in Windhoek today and tomorrow to discuss the challenges and successes of the first two rounds and to plan for the third round.The third round is only for children under the age of five and will be held from August 20 to 24.This will include trivalent oral polio and measles vaccinations, as well as vitamin A supplementation.Shangula said the high coverage achieved during the second round could be attributed to good preparations and organisation.No vaccine shortages were experienced at any vaccination points during last week’s campaign, as happened during the first round.The first polio case arrived at Windhoek’s Katutura Hospital from Aranos in the South on May 10.Up until then, Namibia had been polio free for 10 years.The last reported case had been in 1995.World Health Organisation Country Representative Dr Custodia Mandlhate said they had been in the final stages of declaring Namibia a polio-free country when the disease struck.”Now we are back to square one.Namibia must maintain its surveillance for the next three years and only then can the consideration start,” she said.The WHO helped Namibia by bringing in health experts to train people for the mass vaccination campaign, while Unicef flew in the drugs.Shangula said 1 118 vehicles were used to transport more than 7 000 people in 1 545 teams during round two of the vaccination campaign.Of the 1 118 vehicles, 655 were made available by community members.The total cost of the transport, food, materials, subsistence allowances, communication and facilities amounted to more than N$8,3 million.