By Bakah Derick
Community mobilisers have been spotted administering the polio vaccine in Bamenda III Subdivision. The exercise indicates an effective kick-off of the second round national vaccination campaign against the Poliovirus.
The community mobilisers www.hilltopvoices.com spotted around the Foncha Street area in Nkwen Bamenda residents confirmed were administering the vaccine after passing by recently for identification.
Sources close to the North West Regional Delegation of public health have confirmed that the exercise has effectively taken of in the region with the hope of reaching more children with the collaboration of parents.
According to sources at the country's ministry of health, the campaign will run till Sunday 3 targeting children 0-5 years in households, hospitals and related health facilities, markets and other public places.
The campaign is the second this year after the first which was carried out from the 10 to 15 May. Though Cameroon was declared polio free in 2020, www.hilltopvoices.com has gathered that the country is facing a polio epidemic due to the emergence of new strains of poliovirus. With the new strains as dangerous as the wild Poliovirus, the country's health authorities have classified the situation as "a public health emergency" thus necessitating a two round vaccination response campaign.
Polio it should be recalled is a highly infectious disease caused by the Poliovirus, leading to partial ar total irreversible paralysis. The Poliovirus is transmitted by drinking contarminated water or food.
Parents are encouraged to ensure the vaccination of their children.
