The Ministry of Health is conducting the third round of polio vaccination campaign in high risk counties.
The campaign targeting three high-risk counties of Mandera, Wajir and Garissa is carried out by the ministry in collaboration with the county governments with support from partners.
The vaccination targets 755,011 children under the age of five and an additional 238,447 children aged between five and 15 years in Fafi and Dadaab subcounties and all refugee camps in Garissa.
The drive was originally planned for November 2023 but was postponed due to heavy rains experienced in the North Eastern part of the country.
Public Health PS Mary Muthoni said the campaign is running from Saturday, January 27 to Wednesday, January 31 to interrupt and stop further transmission of polio.
The vaccination campaign comes following the isolation of 14 polio viruses from stools collected from children in refugee camps in Garissa as well as from environmental samples from sewage in Garissa and Nairobi counties.
The current polio outbreak is attributed to importation from a neighbouring country and suboptimal routine immuniszation coverage in several counties, putting all children at risk of polio disease.
“Polio is a crippling and fatal disease that has no cure; however, it can be prevented and eradicated through vaccination,” Muthoni said.
“The ministry assures the public that all vaccines used in the country, including the polio vaccine, are safe and effective, offering additional protection through multiple rounds,” the PS added.
The ministry has called on parents and caregivers to ensure that children under five years are up to date with vaccinations as per the immunisation schedule.
Further, parents and the general public are requested to report any child under 15 years of age presenting with a sudden onset of weakness in the hands or legs or both to the nearest health facility.
Reports can also be made through the hotlines 0729471414 or 0732353535.
“Additionally, the public is reminded that polio disease spreads through the faecal-oral route. Therefore, it is crucial to use toilets to properly dispose of human waste and practice proper hand hygiene measures,” Muthoni said.
Kenya uses sewage monitoring for various diseases including polio as a form of early warning system for potential outbreaks.
The recent positive samples were classified as a circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (CVDPV 2), which sometimes causes paralysis in people who have not been fully vaccinated.
Polio has no treatment and the disease can only be prevented through vaccination.
Initial symptoms of the disease are fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness of the neck and pain in the limbs.
Kenya uses oral polio virus (OPV) vaccine because it is cheap and easy to administer. Two doses confer lifetime immunity.
The OPV contains a live, weakened form of poliovirus. On rare occasions, when replicating in the gastrointestinal tract, OPV strains genetically change and may be excreted as live viruses that can paralyse.
They may spread in communities that are not fully vaccinated against polio, especially in areas where there is poor hygiene, poor sanitation, or overcrowding and cause acute flaccid paralysis in extremely few cases.