Papua New Guinea is experiencing a polio outbreak that has infected at least two children, according to health authorities who called for an immediate vaccination campaign.
The country of nearly 12 million people in Oceania launched a national response this week after detecting poliomyelitis, known also as polio, in two healthy children during routine screenings. Sewage testing confirmed the virus was circulating in Lae, its second-largest city.
Polio is a highly infectious disease that mostly affects young children. In severe cases, it can cause lifelong paralysis or death.
While it has mostly been stamped out globally, polio is still endemic in Afghanistan and Pakistan and cases are occasionally reported elsewhere in the world.
Papua New Guinea was declared polio-free in 2000, but it experienced an outbreak in 2018 that paralysed 26 people.
The situation now is “serious but manageable,” health minister Elias Kapavore said in a statement.
“We’ve dealt with this before and know what works,” Kapavore added.
There is no cure for polio, but it can be prevented with vaccination.
In Papua New Guinea, however, many children remain vulnerable due to low immunisation rates, according to Dr Veera Mendonca, UNICEF’s representative in the country.
The United Nations agency called for a widespread vaccination effort and said it was working with the government to procure and distribute jabs.
“While the focus right now is on stopping this outbreak, we must take this opportunity to boost routine immunisation to 90 per cent and protect children long-term,” Mendonca said in a statement.
UNICEF is also helping to boost the country’s disease monitoring and raise awareness around the outbreak, she added.
