The Burundi government has said that it has detected its first cases of the Polio virus in over three decades the World Health Organization (WHO) also confirmed on Friday.
Burundian health authorities detected a case in an unvaccinated four-year-old boy in the west of the country, as well as two other children who came come into contact with him.
In a confirmation statement, WHO said the East African nation had detected eight cases of type 2 polio virus.
Five other type 2 polio samples were discovered in wastewater, the WHO said.
Matshidiso Moeti WHO’s regional Africa director said that Burundi’s swift detection of the cases “shows the effectiveness of the country’s disease surveillance”.
“We are supporting the national efforts to ramp up polio vaccination to ensure that no child is missed and faces no risk of polio’s debilitating impact,” she noted.
