An injectable vaccine against polio to be introduced soon

The Minister of Public Health has announced that a new injectable vaccine against polio for children will soon be introduced in Cameroon.

André Mama Fouda gave the information at a press conference yesterday, in Yaoundé, in order not to come as a surprise to parents when their children are given the Injectable Polio Vaccine (IPV) during immunization scheduled on July 15.

According to the Minister, the vaccine is for children between 0 to 11 months who are the main target of the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI). The meeting was attended by the Minister of Communication, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, the representative of UNICEF, Felicite Tchibindat and the WHO Representative, Dr. Jean Baptiste Roungou.

At the press conference, the MOH said that: "As part of fulfilling our commitments, starting from July, a dose of IPV will be given to children aged three and half months. In addition, they will be given the third dose of OPV. These vaccines, when given at the same time, will enable us to better protect our children against polio. IPV, which confer immunity by blood, is not a replacement of any of the OPV doses," he assured.

Thus, children will continue to receive OPV muccosale conferring intestinal immunity as prescribed in the immunization schedule and during immunization campaigns. It is an injectable formula given to the child at the age of three and a half months at the same time as other vaccines (Penta 3, pneumo 3 and OPV 3).

To date, OPV used in Cameroon remains the primary measure to prevent polio and is given in four doses in a routine immunization process. This vaccine increases child protection measures when the doses are taken religiously. It also protects children against various types of poliovirus.

Meanwhile, the injectable form of vaccination will be done on the left thigh of the child and by a health worker in a health facility or during immunization sessions in the community. The introduction of at least one dose of IPV reduces the risk of resurgence of wild poliovirus type 2 after removal of the component of OPV, boosts immunity against poliovirus types 1 and 3 among others.

This will help reduce global vulnerability to wild poliovirus still existing and to accelerate the eradication in the infected areas. IPV will facilitate the intermission of any outbreak of type 2 immune response by ensuring a more efficient OPV type 2. The ultimate goal is to gradually remove the VPO by 2019.