Ghana closes type 2 poliovirus outbreak
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on MyJoyOnline
The Ghana Health Service announced the closure, in August 2026, of the country's type 2 poliovirus outbreak after vaccination campaigns and strengthened surveillance. Vaccination coverage has remained above 95% since the introduction of the inactivated polio vaccine, according to the Ghana Health Service.
Ghana officially closed its type 2 poliovirus outbreak in August 2026, the Ghana Health Service, the national health service, announced in a statement published on Saturday 24 October to mark World Polio Day. The closure was confirmed by evaluations of the outbreak response conducted with the World Health Organisation, Unicef, Gavi, Rotary International and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to the Ghana Health Service.
Ghana thus joins Burundi, Guinea-Bissau, the Republic of the Congo and Uganda, which also closed their type 2 poliovirus outbreaks in August 2026. The country has maintained vaccination coverage above 95% since the introduction of the inactivated polio vaccine in 2018 and the addition of a second dose in 2024, the service said.
The Ghana Health Service nevertheless called for epidemiological surveillance and vaccination to be maintained to prevent new outbreaks. It recalled that polio can cause permanent paralysis but is preventable through vaccination, and urged parents to ensure that their children are fully immunised.
