2 CASES OF ACUTE FLACCID PARALYSIS DETECTED (PAGE 20)

THE Western Regional Health Administration has detected two cases of acute flaccid paralysis, a syndrome in which affected persons legs cannot be stretched or flexed but are hanging.
The stool of the affected persons has been sent to the Noguchi Memorial Medical Research Institute for test to find out whether it was caused by wide polio virus infection.
The acting Deputy Western Regional Director in charge of Public Health, Dr Kwaku Anin Karikari, announced this at a press briefing on the second round of the polio national immunisation days from March 26 and 28, this year.
He stated that if the test proved positive, then it would show that there were still active acute polio virus cases in the region and that the health administration should intensify its immunisation programme.
He said if it proved otherwise, then it showed that there were no wild polio virus cases in the region.
“We are not looking for polio, but acute flaccid paralysis, a syndrome,” Dr Karikari emphasised.
He said the target population were children between 0 and 59 months and the strategy was a house-to-house campaign.
The deputy director said every house should be visited by teams and that all health facilities would have fixed post to handle the issue.
He urged parents to immunise and protect their children against the childhood disease and also complete the child’s immunisation before the child was 12 months old, since every unprotected child was a threat to the society in terms of infection.
Dr Karikari said during the round one of the polio immunisation days in February, this year, oral polio vaccine coverage was 98.6 per cent while vitamin A coverage was 94.9 per cent.
He said during the round one of the immunisation days, social mobilisation at all levels was generally good for the campaign.
He added that collaborators supported majority of the districts with vehicles even though no district reported of financial support from the district assemblies.
Meanwhile, in a statement to mark the World Tuberculosis (TB) Day, Dr Karikari said the region recorded a marked improvement in treatment outcomes in 2008.
He said the regional cure rate among patients placed on treatment in 2007 was 74 per cent compared with 63 per cent for 2006 cohort.
The treatment success rate, Dr Karikari said, was 73 per cent and 86 per cent for 2006 and 2007, respectively.
“Over the years, the gap between treatment success and cure rate has narrowed, an indication of improved management with sputum smear result being used to determine outcome in and more patients,” he stated.