20 July 2007
The Department of Health in KwaZulu-Natal calls on parents and guardians to
immunise children under the age of five during the Polio Immunisation Campaign
starting from Saturday until Sunday, 21 to 29 July 2007, in all clinics and
hospitals.
The campaign seeks to give children booster dose that will provide children
with additional protection against polio. All children will receive oral polio
vaccine during the campaign. It is important to bring the child during the
campaign. These extra drops will protect the children against the polio virus.
Parents should take note that the vaccines given during the mass campaigns do
not replace the routine childhood immunisation schedule.
Immunisation will be available at every clinic or immunisation post. These
immunisation venues will be displayed on posters at the clinics and hospitals.
This will be the second round of immunisation following the initial campaign in
May where children received the first dose of the immunisation against polio
and measles.
The reason that two doses of polio vaccine are given is that there are three
strains of polio usually the body responds to one strain at a time to make sure
that they develop antibodies to all three strains, two doses are required.
What is polio?
Polio also called poliomyelitis is a highly infectious disease caused by a
virus. It invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis in a matter
of hours. It can strike at any age, but affects mainly children under the age
of five years. Once established in the intestine, polio virus can enter the
blood stream and invade the central nervous system and destroy the nerves
cells. The limb becomes floppy and lifeless.
Symptoms
The virus enters the body through the mouth and multiplies in the intestine.
Initial symptoms are fever, fatigue, tiredness, headache, vomiting and
stiffness in the neck and pain in the limbs. Polio virus can be spread widely
before cases of paralysis are seen. Polio is a viral illness that in 95 percent
of cases actually produces no symptoms at all. As most people infected with
polio have no signs of illness, they are never aware they have been infected.
After initial infection with poliovirus, the virus is shed excrement for
several weeks. During that time polio can spread rapidly through the community.
Polio can be diagnosed by blood test or culture.
Prevention of polio
There is no cure for polio, it can only be prevented through immunisation.
Polio vaccine given multiple times almost always protects a child for life. It
is vital that the community play a role in creating a polio free generation by
bringing the kids to the health facilities, clinic points and community centres
such as malls during the campaign.
Contagiousness
Polio is transmitted primarily through the ingestion of material
contaminated with virus found in stool. People are advised to wash hands each
time they visit toilets and not to drink contaminated water.
The objective of the Department's mass immunisation campaign is to give
children booster doses that will provide them with additional protection
against polio and measles. This is in line with the goal set by World Health
Organisation (WHO) for global polio and measles eradication.
Your support and assistance is needed to make our province and country polio
and measles free.
Stop polio! Stop measles! Immunise!
Contact:
Leon Mbangwa
Departmental Spokesperson
Cell: 083 459 8695
Issued by: Department of Health, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
20 July 2007
