ZAMBIA DECLARES POLIO OUTBREAK AFTER VIRUS DETECTED IN WASTEWATER

LUSAKA, Feb 25 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- Zambia on Tuesday declared an outbreak of poliovirus in accordance with the International Health Regulations after samples collected from a wastewater treatment plant in Lusaka, the country's capital, tested positive for the virus, reported Xinhua.

Acting Minister of Health Cornelius Mweetwa said the virus was detected through the country's environmental surveillance system, noting that no confirmed clinical cases of polio-related paralysis have been reported.

"The detection through the environmental wastewater surveillance system confirms that the virus is being shed in our communities," he said in a ministerial statement delivered in the parliament.

Mweetwa said that circulating poliovirus has also been detected in some neighbouring countries, pointing to a broader regional outbreak.

He said the government has established a national poliovirus response management system to coordinate containment efforts.

A risk assessment and detailed field investigations are currently underway to determine the extent of possible community transmission.

The government will work with the World Health Organisation to conduct vaccination campaigns targeting all children under the age of five in identified high-risk areas, he added.

While Zambia last recorded an indigenous wild poliovirus case in 1995, Mweetwa said the country has since periodically detected cases of circulating poliovirus, with the most recent case reported in December 2023.  

--BERNAMA-XINHUA