Suspected polio case detected in Adjumani

Case detected in a 22-month-old baby who had reportedly been immunised from South Sudan by his parents.

Health officials in Adjumani District have reported a suspected case of Acute Flaccid Paralysis which they said is one of the signs of the polio virus.

The case was detected in a 22-month-old baby boy at Maasa B Health Centre II in Ukosijoni Sub-county on Wednesday last week.

Although the child’s medical form showed that he had completed the immunisation schedule from South Sudan where his parents lived, his condition reportedly deteriorated 10 days after they had settled in Adjumani. Admission at the health centre did not provide relief, forcing the health workers to refer him to Adjumani hospital.

The district health office has already sent two specimens to Uganda Virus Research Institute Entebbe for further tests.

The district health officer, Ms Anne Adunia, said it was necessary to establish what the blood samples contain since suspected polio cases in children below 15 years should be examined within 14 days of inception where the viral load is high.

“Parents should take initiative of vaccination because it is a deadly disease. Last year, we submitted three suspected cases to the Uganda Virus Research Institute Entebbe, but good enough, none of them was found to be with the virus,” Ms Adunia said.

The last time Adjumani recorded a case of Polio was in 2009 which health officials claimed was imported from South Sudan. Congolese refugees seeking asylum also pose a threat.

The polio virus is transmitted through food or water that has been contaminated with fecal material. In its acute form, sufferers present with acute fever, followed by a weakness in the limbs.

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