The information was released this Wednesday by the World Health Organization (WHO), on the day that the play-off of unvaccinated children in the provinces covered by the initiative, namely Cunene, Huila, Huambo, Cuando Cubango and Namibe, ended.
The country that became free of wild poliovirus in December 2015 is currently one of 15 countries in the African region that suffer outbreaks of poliovirus derived from circulating vaccines, a rare form of the virus that affects non immunized and underimmunized populations living in areas with inadequate sanitation.
With 142 cases of vaccine poliovirus registered, Angola is currently the most registered country in the African region, with 187 cases of flaccid paralysis and 28 environmental samples waiting for laboratory results.
In the past four days, the government and its partners have vaccinated about 1.2 million children with oral polio in a campaign that was run "under strong measures" to prevent covid-19, according to a WHO statement.
According to Javier Aramburu, the WHO's acting representative in Angola, despite the limitations imposed by covid-19, "it is necessary to ensure that vaccination is not relegated to the background, otherwise it will put children's health at risk".
"We must remain resilient in our vaccination efforts to ensure the immunisation of all Angolan children," he said.
The WHO advocates the participation of everyone to raise awareness in families and communities of the need to take preventive measures against covid-19 and get children vaccinated.
"Ongoing work needs to be intensified to develop a robust surveillance and routine vaccination system to prevent, detect and respond quickly to any cases of polio," it notes.
In Angola, WHO adds, the circulation of the type 2 virus has been laboratory confirmed and the monovalent oral polio type 2 vaccine is being used.
The immunization campaign involved 13,340 people, including 3988 vaccinators.
