Central Equatoria State Minister of Health Dr Felix Ladu Johnson on Tuesday announced three days of campaigning against polio disease. He said that health professionals are ready on the ground to start immunization against polio in all the six counties of the state.
Speaking on Tuesday at a news conference at the state ministry, Ladu said this national immunization campaign is the third round for this year and the targeted children are less than five years in all the six counties of Central Equatoria State.
“More than 44,300 children will be vaccinated in Central Equatoria State in a campaign launched today by the state ministry of health with the support from the World Health Organization and UNICEF,” Ladu said.
He stressed that the immunization campaign is set for three days and hundreds of campaigners are ready to start the vaccination from house to house. The minister appealed to all the citizens to cooperate with the teams to allow them do their job.
He said South Sudan has been polio free since June 2009, but noted that the state saw four cases in Terekeka County in 2008.
Polio is spread when water or food contaminated by fecal matter that originated from a person with polio is ingested. Children most commonly contract the disease because they have weaker immune systems than adults. Symptoms include fatigue, fever, and stiffness in the neck, headache, vomiting and pain in the limbs. The ultimate result can be permanent paralysis or death.