Malawi records 5th polio case

Health authorities in Malawi have confirmed the fifth case of polio, since the disease was first confirmed in a patient in Lilongwe, in February 2022.

Local media reported the new case on Friday, quoting the Director of Health and Social Services for the Southern District of Blantyre, Gift Kawalazira.

The director identified the new patient as a 14-year-old girl from the district.

The girl presented to one of the health facilities in the district with paralysis in December 2022.

But health authorities has just confirmed her condition as polio, he said.

Kawalazira assured the public that the situation will be contained as the country managed to vaccinate around three million children in 2022.

“We managed to vaccinate more children through polio vaccination campaigns that were conducted throughout the country,” he said.

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“So this should not be a cause for an alarm.”

Malawi recorded the first polio case in February 2022.

This is coming, three decades after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the country had eradicated the disease.

In October 2022, Malawi confirmed three more cases, bringing the total number of cases to four.

Since medics reported the first case, Malawi, with support from UNICEF, has been conducting nationwide vaccination campaigns.

The campaign targets around three million children.

Malawi conducted the vaccination in three rounds, with the third one in August 2022. (Xinhua)