Polio immunisation campaign aimed for the Western Cape

By Tando Mfengwana
07 October 2006

The Health department in the Western Cape will launch a free polio immunisation campaign that will sweep across the province from the 8th to the 14th of this month.

Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by the polio virus which affects mainly young children, but any immunised person can also get polio, the minister of health in the Western Cape, Pierre Uys said.

He launched the campaign in conjunction with the City of Cape Town at the Tafelsig Community centre.

The minister said that immunisation efforts will be made to bring additional immunisation posts to all clinics, community health centres and community centres in the province, as close to the community as possible.

Health care workers will visit day care centres, crèches and pre-schools during the campaign.

Recently Namibia has experienced an outbreak of the polio earlier this year, after being free for over ten years. South Africa on the other hand has been polio free for over 15 years.

The national polio immunisation campaign will be conducted to give extra polio drops to as many children as possible; this is aimed at preventing the poliovirus from circulating among unprotected children.

The campaign is targeting children under the age of five years old, as they are the most vulnerable.