The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has initiated a new oral polio vaccination campaign in the Ashanti Region following the identification of a Circulating Virus Derived Polio Type 2 strain.
The new vaccination initiative follows the detection of the polio strain in New Juabeng Municipality, Eastern Region, in September. This strain has been genetically linked to a similar Type 2 strain identified in Algeria.
Dr. Fred Adomako-Boateng, the Ashanti Regional Health Director, announced the campaign in Kumasi, highlighting the urgent need for the vaccination effort. He expressed concern that despite Ghana’s notable successes in controlling wild strains of polio, the emergence of this new strain threatens the country’s polio eradication goals.
Dr. Adomako-Boateng cautioned that low vaccination rates and poor sanitation practices in communities could impede progress and lead to a resurgence of polio cases.
He urged parents and guardians to ensure that their children receive the vaccination to shield them from this potentially debilitating disease.
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) is dedicated to implementing this vaccination campaign vigorously, with a target of reaching 1.4 million children in the Ashanti Region.
The health authority aims to boost vaccine coverage to effectively prevent the spread of the new polio strain and protect public health.
“The sequencing results indicate that the virus is genetically linked to isolates found in Algeria. Typically, if it originated in Algeria and is now in Ghana, it means that if it’s present in the Eastern Region, all children in the country are at risk,” he cautioned.
