Uganda launches nationwide polio vaccination exercise
The campaign, scheduled to kick off on Nov. 4, will however not be carried out in the districts of Mubende, Kassanda, Wakiso, Mukono, and the Kampala capital city because of the ongoing Ebola outbreak.
Uganda’s Minister of Health Ruth Aceng on Wednesday launched a nationwide door-to-door polio vaccination exercise targeting 8.7 million children aged below five years in the country.
This is the second round after the first was held in January this year.
The campaign, scheduled to kick off on Nov. 4, will however not be carried out in the districts of Mubende, Kassanda, Wakiso, Mukono, and the Kampala capital city because of the ongoing Ebola outbreak.
Uganda in August last year reported a polio outbreak in the country after samples from fecal matter collected in the capital Kampala tested positive.
The country was certified polio-free in October 2006 by the World Health Organization (WHO) after having reported no indigenous polio cases for 10 years.
Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus that mainly affects children under five years old, according to WHO. The virus is transmitted by the fecal-oral route and by aerosol droplets.
