The Ministry of Health has said the polio virus might be still circulating among community members in the country, putting under-15 children at risk of contracting it.
Secretary for Health Samson Mndolo has said this at a time the country has scheduled a supplementary polio vaccination exercise for this week.
Polio, which causes paralysis, is mainly caused by a virus spread among people, mainly through fecal-oral transmission such as ingesting contaminated water and food.
“Malawi and surrounding countries continue to register polio cases. In Malawi, the latest cases were of two children aged between five and 15 years. The cases were recorded in February this year.
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“This is a clear indication that the polio virus is still circulating in our environment and that all children below 15 years are at risk of [catching] the disease,” Mndolo said.
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The supplementary polio vaccination campaign starts from Wednesday, July 12, and will run up to July 15 this year.
The ministry has indicated that the door-to-door vaccination exercise would also be available in public hospitals, private hospitals that already offer immunisation services, outreach clinics and other temporary sites.
Meanwhile, health rights activist Maziko Matemba has urged parents and guardians to get those in the targeted age ranges inoculated.
“Polio is so deadly that, once one has it, there is no cure. As such, it is important that people should get vaccinated against it,” Matemba said.
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Polio can be prevented through immunisation, practising food hygiene, personal hygiene as well as proper disposal of faeces and waste.
Organisations such as the World Health Organisation and United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund have been assisting Malawi in its anti-polio efforts.
Malawi registered its first cholera case in February last year after 30 years of registered no case.
The fourth round of polio vaccine targeting children under the age of five was administered in Malawi in October last year.
