By CHATULA KANGALI –

POLIO is a sickness caused by a virus that mainly affects nerves in the spinal cord.
Polio, in its most severe form, can lead to a person being unable to move certain limbs, also called paralysis.
It can also lead to trouble in breathing and sometimes death. The disease also is called poliomyelitis.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Poliomyelitis is a highly infectious viral disease that largely affects children under five years of age.
The virus, which is transmitted by person-to-person, is spread mainly through the faecal-oral route injection of contaminated water and food.
The disease, once one is infected, multiplies in the intestine from where it can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis.
In 1988, the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution for the worldwide eradication of polio, marking the launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative spearheaded by National Government, WHO, Rotary Inter, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and later joined by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
According to research, Wild poliovirus cases have decreased by over 99 per cent since 1988, from an estimated 350 000 cases in more than 125 endemic countries to six reported cases in 2021.
Of the three strains of wild poliovirus (type one, type two and type three), wild poliovirus type two was eradicated in 1999 and wild poliovirus type three was eradicated in 2020.
As of 2022, endemic wild poliovirus type one remains in two countries namely Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Just last year, Zambia received notification of the Wild Polio Virus Type one (WPVI) in February in Malawi from sample stoles of a three-year-old female with onset paralysis in November, 21, with no history of travel.
The other case was detected in Mozambique and was genetically linked to the Malawi case.
Following these two cases from the neighboring countries, Zambia embarked on a supplementary immunisation in response to the WPV1 outbreak as a preventive measure for the young population below the age of five.
According to the Zambia National Public Health Institute (ZNPHI), the Government through the Ministry of Health has conducted four campaigns and rounds of immunisation.
The immunisation is targeting more than five million children under the age of five countrywide.
Following the detection of two samples of polio on the Copperbelt recently, the county has launched another campaign and polio vaccination.
The Copperbelt province health office recently isolated two polio samples from sewerage lines in Kitwe and Mufulira District.
The two isolated samples are from sewer lines in Mindolo and Kawama townships in Kitwe and Mufulira respectively.
Acting provincial health director Christopher Dube confirmed the development, saying the province however had no active human cases of polio and was on high alert for any outbreak
“The polio we are talking about is the polio from sewer samples and not human beings .These samples are things that came from a human being. We are still investigating where they came from,” he said.
Dr Dube said the provincial health office, through its public health department, had heightened severance to ensure there was no polio outbreak.
The campaign has been launched to sensitise people on this type of polio sample so that they will know where it came from in case of an outbreak.
Dr Dube explained that polio was, to some extent, water borne and a faecal kind of pathogen which transmitted through oral injection for example eating contaminated food and drinking contaminated water.
He said the provincial health was encouraging people to drink boiled, treated and piped water and avoid drinking water from shallow wells.
Dr Dube added that a severance system of checking children with paralysis, weak legs and failing or not walking had not found any cases.
He said an environmental assessment to check for polio samples in sewer lines was being conducted.
“This assessment will help us know and check if the people that used the sewer and have polio but have not come to us and to know in case of an outbreak where the cases come from,” he said.
Dr Dube urged members of the public to be on high alert and maintain hygiene standards such as hand washing, sanitising and avoid eating contaminated food.
Health Minister Silver Masebo, on Wednesday last week, launched a polio vaccination campaign in four provinces namely Copperbelt, Luapula, Central and North-western provinces.
“Ladies and gentlemen, safety starts with you and me, then us all. Let us observe the public health measures issued by our public health practitioners,” she said.
Ms Masebo urged parents and guardians to take their under five children for polio vaccination.
She called on the public to exercise good hygiene practices such as hand washing, sanitizing, and eating clean and welcomed food among others.
Ms Masebo said the Government was rolling out vaccination campaigns to protect the population under the age of five from contracting the disease.
The vaccination campaign is taking place from February 16 to February 19 this year.
Health workers in this province are administering the polio vaccine door to door, in public places such as markets, schools, bus stations and churches.
The public should ensure their children are vaccinated and exercise high hygiene practices to prevent the outbreak of the disease.
With all efforts being put in place by different stakeholders, there is hope for Zambia to mitigate the disease.