The World Health Organization has identified two outbreaks of polio in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It said there was a high risk the disease would spread.


The strain of polio involved emerges in areas with poor vaccine coverage. Polio infections mainly affect young people and can result in permanent paralysis.


“In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), two separate circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2s (cVDPV2s) have been confirmed. The first cVDPV2 strain has been isolated from two acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) cases from two districts in Haut-Lomami province, with onset of paralysis on 20 February and 8 March 2017. The second cVDPV2 strain has been isolated from Maniema province, from two AFP cases (with onset of paralysis on 18 April and 8 May 2017) and a healthy contact in the community,” WHO said.