Health officials in Sierra Leone are probing a recent Type 2 poliovirus case, marking the first such occurrence in three years.
The case involves a four-year-old child from the Approved School Community in Western Area Urban, Freetown.
The National Public Health Agency (NPHA) and the Ministry of Health (MOH) released a joint statement confirming the detection.
They have sent a sample to Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, for further analysis to determine whether the virus is a circulating wild poliovirus or a vaccine-derived variant. Wild poliovirus is more dangerous compared to the vaccine-derived strain.
Polio, scientifically known as Poliomyelitis, primarily targets the nervous system and can lead to paralysis, respiratory issues, and even death in severe cases. The disease predominantly affects children under the age of five.
Sierra Leone last reported a wild poliovirus case in 2010. In 2020, the African region was declared free of wild poliovirus.