Polio reported in Port Sudan

Yesterday, the Red Sea state Immunisation Department reported three cases of poliomylitis, an acute infection caused by a poliovirus, in Port Sudan locality.

Hiyam Juneidabi, Director of the Immunisation Department also announced that a polio vaccination campaign will run in the state from August 26 to 29.

She called for activating screening procedures in the state, and expanding vaccination programs in order to deal with the epidemic as quickly as possible.

About a month ago, there were 23 confirmed cases of polio in Chad, that borders North and West Darfur, which lead to polio cases within Sudan. Nine new cases were reported last week by the Ministry of Health.

The highest alert has been raised by the Ministry of Health. A detailed report of the cases of vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) was presented to the Council of Ministers yesterday. It has requested provision of necessary support to confront the infectious disease.

The Ministry of Health announced on August 19 that it held a meeting at the Abdelhamid Ibrahim Centre in Khartoum with the Ministry of Labour and Social Development, representatives of United Nations agencies, and international organisations in Sudan “to reflect on a response to the polio epidemic”.

The Director of the Expanded Immunisation Programme reviewed the current situation of the epidemic at regional and country level, and the actions taken by the federal Ministry of Health so far.

In November 2018, the World Health Organisation, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Sudan’s Ministry of Health held a three-day polio vaccination campaign in Sudan.

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