The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed the presence of wild polio in Africa for the first time in five years.
The WHO has declared a wild polio-virus type 1 epidemic in Malawi after a case was discovered in the capital, Lilongwe.
A three-year-old girl was paralyzed by polio.
According to the health authorities, a laboratory test revealed that the strain was identical to one prevalent in Pakistan.
The only nations where wild polio is endemic are Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Wild polio was last seen in Africa in 2016, in the Nigerian state of Borno. In 2020, the African continent was pronounced polio-free.
Polio is an extremely contagious disease. The virus attacks the neurological system and can induce complete paralysis in as little as a few hours.
BBC