Cameroon still under maximum alert against the wild poliovirus

Since the beginning of the year, more than 5 million children have been vaccinated against 4.7 million in 2013. Yet the country has not always met the 95% standard to ensure a collective immunity.

Teams of vaccinators were recently deployed to administer to children doses of vaccines against the wild poliovirus.

Cameroon organised from October 30 to November 2, the ninth round of the national response immunization days against poliomyelitis synchronized with Nigeria.

This was linked to the second round of the week campaign for nutrition, infant and maternal health in the year, with aims to reduce mortality and morbidity due to polio, vitamin A deficiency and intestinal infection among children under 5 years.

According Zacharie Adam, Deputy Director of Unicef, this other campaign targets "Cameroonian children from 0 to 5 years in the whole territory. But in the East in the refugee camps, it will be children from 0 to 10 years". He invited the population to open their doors to more than 14,500 social mobilizers that will be deployed.

Since the beginning of this outbreak in 2013, Cameroon has so far registered nine cases of Wild Polio virus. And the last two detected July 30, 2014, within the refugee populations in the Kette health district, called on the countries of the sub-region to organize synchronized national immunization days to stop the circulation of the disease by December 31, 2014.