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                      Cameroon No Longer a Polio Exporter

   by Moki Edwin Kindzeka

   Cameroon says it has attained the status of a "non-polio exporting
   country" - hitting the 6-month mark without a new case. But the country
   is still considered a high risk nation with pockets of resistance to
   polio vaccination programs for children - especially in refugee camps.

   In 2014, the World Health Organization listed Cameroon among the 10
   countries with active wild poliovirus and among the top four countries
   posing the greatest threat of exporting the crippling virus to other
   countries.

   Cameroon Health Minister Andre Mama Fouda said that is no longer the
   case after his government conducted 10 robust vaccination exercises.

   "The last cases were detected on 7 July 2014 in a refugee camp at Kete,
   east region. Hence, W.H.O is recommending that vaccination measures be
   maintained for travellers at entrance points of the country. In the
   absence of any new case of polio in the next six months, Cameroon will
   leave the category of polio infected countries and move towards
   eradicating this scourge," said Mama Fouda.

   But he warned Cameroon still remains a high risk country because of
   mass refugee movements and poor sanitation.

   Cameroon is home to more than 244,000 refugees from the Central African
   Republic and the violence in northeastern Nigeria has forced more than
   192,000 people to flee across the border into neighboring Cameroon.
   Nigeria is one of three countries where polio is considered endemic.

   Mama Fouda said a majority of them are children and women who have not
   been vaccinated.

   "The country will continue to implement the polio emergency plan to
   target children aged below five years due to the poor performances and
   residual risks related to insecurity and the flow of refugees and
   displaced persons. All children aged zero to five years in this high
   risk regions, make up the target population of these local immunization
   days," said Mama Fouda.

   Epidemiologist Lucienne Dempouo said it is imperative to stop myths
   surrounding the polio virus and parents must understand that even one
   infected child poses a risk to all children.

   "We have to maintain that status. We must not just stop and say okay,
   we have reached the point, goodbye. No. We still continue to work to
   make sure that every children are vaccinated since vaccination is free
   of charge," said Dempouo.

   Polio is an highly infectious disease attacking the brain and spinal
   cord - causing paralysis and even death.  It mostly impacts children
   under the age of 5.

   The Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 2013 launched a strategic
   plan to wipe out polio by 2018.  More than $4 billion has been pledged
   to the effort which requires that every child on earth be vaccinated.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/cameroon-no-longer-a-polio-exporter/2
   700892.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/cameroon-no-longer-a-polio-exporter/2700892.html