announcements by health and administrative authorities advising the
population about an intensive city-wide door-to-door anti-polio
vaccination campaign that will take place in Kinshasa from March 20 to
March 23.
The vaccination is to target the entire population, estimated at about
11 million people living in the capital city and its suburbs.
This unprecedented massive campaign involving all age groups means
that there's a serious fear of a devastating polio "outbreak."
In fact, a polio epidemic of sorts has been quietly and slowly
spreading in southwestern Congo since this past year--crippling adults
and children; and raising alarm among local and international health
authorities. The epicenter of the outbreak is rural areas of the
Bandundu Province where scores of people have been affected. In that
province, people have aptly dubbed in Lingala this nasty polio strain
"buka-buka" (break-break) as it's been "breaking" its victims' lower
limbs almost overnight.
About a month or so ago, a similar massive anti-polio campaign was
also carried out in the southeastern region of the neighboring
Congo-Brazzaville near the border with Congo-Kinshasa. But a Kinshasa
health official speculated that there was no link between the strains
festering in both countries.
Many Kinois seem unawares of the silent epidemic... I even overheard
today in the street two young men who, mistakenly believing that polio
is only a kids' disease, were planning on skipping the upcoming
vaccination. I had to break--uninvited--into the conversation to tell
them about FDR! I doubt if my spiel changed their mind...
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