An outbreak of polyomyelitis in Papua New Guinea has been declared, generating concern about the spread of the disease in a country with low vaccination rates, health officials said.
Papua New Guinea was certified as polio free in 2000, but immunization rates among children are low, less than 50 percent, according to the World Health Organization.
The virus was detected in wastewater and environmental samples in the capital of the Pacific Nation, Port Moresby, and the second largest city in Lae, WHO.
In subsequent evidence, it was discovered that two children in Lae had the strain of type 2 poliovirus, according to the WHO representative in Papua New Guinea, Sevil Huseynova.
Confirmation of community transmission in children “constitutes an outbreak of polio,” said Huseynova in the information notes provided to AFP on Friday.
The health agency “expresses a deep concern for the confirmed outbreak,” he said. Genetic tests showed that the polio strain detected in Papua New Guinea was linked to a circulating in Indonesia.
“Poly is a highly infectious disease, and in communities with low polio immunization rates, the virus spreads quickly from one person to another,” said Huseynova.
Papua New Guinea Health Minister Elias Kapavore said the situation was “serious but manageable.”
“We have dealt with this before and we know what works,” he told reporters on Thursday. “The vaccination is safe and effective, and we are acting quickly to keep the children protected,” he said.
The poliovirus, often extended through wastewater and contaminated water, is highly infectious and potentially fatal. It can cause deformities and paralysis, and mainly affect children under five years.
