Sierra Leone investigates isolation of poliovirus type 2
Format Freetown - 14 December 2020 - The Ministry of Health and Sanitation wishes to inform the general public that preliminary results from the investigations of children manifesting weakness of the limbs, referred to as ‘Acute Flaccid Paralysis’ (AFP) have led to the isolation of poliovirus type 2 from three cases of AFP in Kambia, Tonkolili and Western Area Rural respectively.
Stool samples are routinely collected from children manifesting weakness of the limbs and tested in the laboratory to determine the cause and possible origin. Hence, routine samples collected in this process, including from a 26 months old child that took ill with symptoms of Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) in Kambia were analyzed at the Regional lab in Abidjan and isolated - Poliovirus type 2 (PV2).
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The East African
Monday December 14 2020
A child receives a polio vaccine. Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Health is investigating three suspected cases of polio infections. PHOTO | FILE | NMG
Summary
Samples from the cases have been shipped to Abidjan in Cote d’Ivoire for analysis at the Institute Pasteur, one of two World Health Organization (WHO) certified laboratories in the sub-region with the capacity to confirm a test for polio infection.
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Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Health is investigating three suspected cases of polio infections which, if confirmed, will interrupt Africa’s journey towards eliminating the disease.
A Ministry of Health official said that on Friday, three cases of what they believe is Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) were reported in three districts – Kambia, Tonkolili and Western Area Rural.