Oral vaccine linked to new polio outbreak

Four-year-old Shannel Kemunto receives a polio vaccine at Kisii Teaching and Referral hospital. [Denish Ochieng/Standard]

Oral polio vaccine used for prevention of the disease has been linked to the recent outbreaks of the virus that is re-emerging in some countries, Kenya included.

It is emerging that the use of this oral vaccine, which contains some mild strains of the virus, will put a healthy person who is immunnised at risk when they come into contact with the vaccine-derived viruses.