17 Jul 2024 | 01:02 PM UTC
Angola: Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus activity reported in multiple areas in July
Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus activity reported in multiple areas in Angola in July. Confirm vaccination.
Health authorities reported circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus activity in multiple areas in Angola, with 10 confirmed cases reported May 3-June 23. Angola last reported confirmed human cases during the 2019-2020 outbreak. Lunda Norte (6 cases) is the most affected, followed by Luanda (2 cases), Huambo (1 case), and Moxico (1 case). Local health authorities have strengthened the public health response, which includes vaccination campaigns, surveillance improvements, and community engagement. Officials urge all parents to ensure their children under five years of age are fully vaccinated against polio. This represents the most complete data available as of July 17.
Visit a doctor to receive a precautionary polio booster before traveling to Angola, as even mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic people are infectious. Practice basic food and water precautions: drink only boiled, bottled, or purified water, and ensure that food is properly prepared and served hot.
Cases of cVDPV are a rare result of widespread vaccination using oral polio vaccine (OPV), which contains a live but weakened strain of poliovirus. When a child is immunized with OPV, the weakened vaccine virus replicates in the intestine for a limited time, leading to the development of antibodies. In areas of inadequate sanitation, the vaccine virus excreted by these children can spread in the community.
Polio is highly infectious and is transmitted from person to person, spread through the fecal-oral route or by a common vehicle (e.g., contaminated water or food). The virus is shed by infected people through feces, spreading quickly, especially in areas with poor hygiene and sanitation systems. Symptoms typically appear 7-10 days after infection but can develop from 4-35 days. Up to 90 percent of those infected experience no or mild symptoms, but in the remaining proportion of cases, the virus causes paralysis, usually of the legs, which is most often permanent. Among those cases, 5-10 percent die when the respiratory muscles become affected. The risk of paralysis increases with age. There is no specific treatment or cure for polio; immunization can only prevent it.
