Africa has been declared free from wild poliovirus, paving the way for the global eradication of the disease, announced the Africa Regional Certification Commission on Tuesday.
The region has detected no cases of the viral disease in the last four years. The last case of the virus, which attacks the nervous system causing paralysis in the lower limbs among children under five, was reported from northern Nigeria.
With 47 countries of the African region declared free from wild poliovirus, Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries in the world witnessing the transmission of the virus. If both countries are able to stamp out the virus, then polio would become the second disease to be eradicated from the world, after smallpox.
“Ending wild poliovirus in Africa is one of the greatest public health achievements of our time and provides powerful inspiration for all of us to finish the job of eradicating polio globally,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO).
“I thank and congratulate the governments, health workers, community volunteers, traditional and religious leaders and parents across the region who have worked together to kick wild polio out of Africa,” he added.
Global efforts to tame the poliovirus could have been achieved earlier but the armed conflict in Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan delayed mass polio immunization campaigns. Armed rebels brutally killed many polio volunteers and misinformation about the vaccine further marred the mass immunization drives.
But eradicating the wild poliovirus doesn’t mean the disease has been completely eradicated in Africa. Since the wild poliovirus still circulates in Pakistan and Afghanistan, it might re-appear in other parts of the world.
Moreover, children are getting infected with the vaccine-derived poliovirus in 16 African countries. The situation arises from inadequate coverage of oral polio vaccines (OPV), which contains a weakened form of the virus to help children develop immunity by producing antibodies.
The vaccinated children shed the virus through feces. In areas with inadequate sanitation facilities, vaccine-derived poliovirus starts circulation again through the oral-fecal route, leading to fresh outbreaks.
The lockdowns imposed in many parts of Africa to control the novel coronavirus pandemic have adversely affected the polio vaccination.
Continued commitment to strengthening immunization and health systems in the African region is essential to protect progress against wild polio and tackle the vaccine-derived poliovirus present in 16 countries in the region, warned leading WHO experts.
“Pockets of low immunity mean such strains continue to pose a threat and the risk is magnified by interruptions in vaccination due to COVID-19, which have left communities more vulnerable to vaccine derive polio outbreaks,” said a statement released by the WHO.
Africa’s success in achieving wild poliovirus free certification has also boosted the morale of organizations involved with tackling the viral diseases. “During a challenging year for global health, the certification of the African region as wild poliovirus-free is a sign of hope and progress,” said Holger Knaack, president of Rotary International.
