eSwatini health officials are on high alert as fears mount over possible impact of polio cases reported in neighbouring Mozambique, a cabinet minister announced on Wednesday.
Health Minister Lizzie Nkosi said eSwatini authorities have increased surveillance at entry points to detest cases of polio among people travelling between the two countries.
“The circulating virus-derived poliovirus outbreak in countries such as Nigeria and neighbouring Mozambique is cause for concern,” Nkosi said during an Inter-Country Polio Certification Committee Meeting held in Ezulwini on Wednesday.
A number of polio cases have been reported in Mozambique since the end of 2018, forcing the authorities there to embark on a vaccination exercise.
eSwatini has been polio-free for almost 30 years, with the last case of polio in 1989.
BM/jn/APA