The government declared a polio outbreak Friday after laboratory tests confirmed the presence of the virus in sewage samples taken in Blantyre, the Health and Sanitation Ministry said, marking what officials described as a second wave of the disease in recent years.
Health authorities said the detection followed World Health Organization guidelines and prompted immediate activation of emergency response systems, intensified disease surveillance and planning for nationwide vaccination campaigns. The ministry warned the virus can cause serious health complications, including irreversible paralysis, and said children remain the most vulnerable.
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“Detection of poliovirus in sewage is a red flag because it can indicate silent transmission within a community,” the ministry said in a written statement. Lab confirmation from the Blantyre samples was the basis for the outbreak declaration, officials said, though they did not provide details on the virus strain or the number of clinical cases at the time of the announcement.
Poliovirus spreads primarily through the fecal-oral route — contaminated water and food — and by direct contact with infected people. Public health experts say poor sanitation, limited access to clean water and overcrowded living conditions increase the risk of spread, particularly in urban centers and informal settlements.
The ministry’s emergency measures include:
- enhanced environmental and clinical surveillance for acute flaccid paralysis and poliovirus;
- fast-track coordination with WHO and regional partners to map risk areas;
- planning of mass immunization campaigns to reach children deemed at highest risk.
Officials said vaccination planning will follow WHO recommendations and aim to rapidly immunize children in targeted districts. Health authorities did not provide a firm start date for the campaign but said logistics and vaccine supplies are being mobilized.
Malawi and its neighbors have made major gains against polio since the introduction of large-scale vaccination programs, but health ministers cautioned that progress can be fragile. Thousands of people across Malawi and the African continent lived with paralysis from polio contracted before vaccines were widely available, underscoring the urgency of preventing new transmission.
Public health specialists warned that detecting poliovirus in wastewater does not always correlate with reported paralytic cases, but it does require swift intervention to prevent outbreaks. They urged parents to ensure their children’s routine immunizations are up to date and called on communities to improve sanitation and hygiene practices to reduce transmission risks.
The ministry said it will release further details on the laboratory findings, the geographic scope of exposure and the timetable for vaccination once those plans are finalized with WHO and other partners.
By News-room
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
