May 16 (UPI) — The Papua New Guinea National Department of Health announced early Friday that a polio outbreak has struck there.
The nation’s government said it is “stepping up its response after the poliovirus was detected in wastewater samples and in two healthy children in Lae, Morobe Province.”
The World Health Organization has reported that less than 50% of the country’s population have been immunized against the disease, which is caused virally via contact with an infected person’s feces or droplets that come with sneezes and coughs. Polio mostly affects kids under five years old and cannot be cured.
The two children who tested positive in Lae are said to be symptom-free, which is commonly the case. Some may develop flu-like symptoms, but the virus can also occasionally cause paralysis and become life-threatening if breathing muscles are impacted.
The BBC reports that Papua New Guinea’s WHO representative Sevil Huseynova said “We have to do something about it and we have to do it immediately,” and that “We have to make maximum effort to get 100% [vaccination] coverage.”
In a post to Facebook Friday, the Papua New Guinea government said its Health Minister Elias Kapavore has called the situation “serious but manageable,” and “We’ve dealt with this before and know what works.”
He also added that “Vaccination is safe and effective, and we’re acting quickly to keep children protected.”
The Papua New Guinea government also announced Friday that as of Wednesday its “planned response includes at least two rounds of nationwide vaccination. These vaccines are free, safe, and widely used around the world, and the health system is working to ensure they are available to all children under five, no matter where they live.”
The country also declared it will take “immediate steps include expanding disease monitoring to detect any further cases swiftly and effectively. Testing is being increased, and surveillance efforts are being strengthened across the country to monitor for any additional signs of the virus.”
Polio has broken out before in Papua New Guinea, with the most recent incident happening in June of 2018, after a reported 20 years of the nation being considered polio-free.
