Mozambique declared a wild poliovirus outbreak on May 18 after confirming that a child in the northeastern Tete province had contracted the disease, marking the country’s first case of wild poliovirus in 30 years. The case represents the second wild polio outbreak in southern Africa in 2022: in mid-February, Malawi declared on outbreak that, like the Mozambique case, was linked to a strain circulating in Pakistan. In response to the earlier outbreak, Mozambique had recently carried out two mass vaccination campaigns, reaching 4.2 million children. Efforts are currently underway to help strengthen disease surveillance in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The five countries will continue mass vaccinations, with plans to reach 23 million children ages 5 and under with polio vaccine in the coming weeks. WHO Mozambique
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