Weekly country updates as of 20 September 2017
Afghanistan
No new wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases were reported in the past week. The total number of WPV1 cases for 2017 remains six. The most recent case in the country had onset of paralysis on 10 July, from Zabul province, neighbouring Kandahar province and Pakistan.
National immunisation days at the end of September will aim to vaccinate approximately 10 million children aged less than five years. Preparations continue to ensure the highest possible vaccination quality, with special focus on the highest risk regions.
Read the latest polio update from Afghanistan to see information on cases, surveillance and vaccination campaigns.
Pakistan
No new wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases were reported in the past week. The most recent case, from Karachi, had onset of paralysis on 11 August 2017. The total number of WPV1 cases for 2017 remains four.
One new WPV1-positive environmental sample has been reported in Jacobabad district, Sindh province, bringing the total WPV1 positives in 2017 to 76. This is the first WPV1-positive environmental to be detected in the Jacobadad district in 2017, and the 25th positive collected in Sindh since the beginning of the year.
The National Immunization Days are in progress targeting more than 37 million children in the country.
Read the latest polio update from Pakistan to see information on cases, surveillance and vaccination campaigns.
Nigeria No new cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) were reported in the past week. The total number of WPV1 cases for 2016 remains four and no cases have been reported in 2017. The most recent case had onset of paralysis on 21 August 2016 in Monguno Local Government Area (LGA), Borno.
Nigeria continues to implement emergency response to the detected WPV1 strain and circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) strains affecting the country (last detected in 2016).
Detection of polio cases in Nigeria underscores the risk posed by low-level undetected transmission and the urgent need to strengthen subnational surveillance.
Planning is underway for the next set of subnational immunisation days, taking place at the beginning of October. The intention is to provide protection to over 50% of under 5s nationwide.
The health response to widespread flooding in Benue continues to be strengthened by polio infrastructure. Existing structures and local health workers are helping to intensify disease surveillance and reporting, assess potential infection sources, and engage communities in disease prevention.
In Borno, an emergency response team continues to use the polio infrastructure to monitor the recent cholera outbreak.
Lake Chad Basin
The detection of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) (Borno state, Nigeria in 2016) and circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) (Borno and Sokoto states in 2016) continue to pose a risk to the neighbouring countries of the Lake Chad basin and hence a regional outbreak response plan is being implemented.
Emergency outbreak response efforts continue across the Lake Chad basin, together with activities to fill subnational surveillance gaps across the region.
Detailed planning is underway for the next immunisation activities, scheduled for early October.
Read the latest polio update on the Lake Chad Basin to see information on cases, surveillance and vaccination campaigns.
Central Africa
One new case of type 2 circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV2) was reported in the past week in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo). The case was found in a 17-month-old child, living in Lwamba, Haut Lomami. The total number of cVDPV2 cases this year is now nine, in two separate outbreaks: in Haut Lomami province (seven cases, with onset of paralysis of the most recent case on 27 July); and in Maniema province (two cases with onset of paralysis on 26 March and 18 April, with an additional isolate detected in a healthy individual with sample collection on 2 May).
Outbreak response is taking place, including use of monovalent oral polio vaccine type 2 (mOPV2) in line with internationally-agreed outbreak response protocols, targeting more than 750,000 children under the age of five across the two provinces.
The first mOPV2 round was implemented on 27-29 June in the two affected provinces; and the second mOPV2 round ran from 13-15 July in Haut Lomami and 20-22 July in Maniema. Mop-up vaccination activities have gone ahead this week, aiming to vaccinate over 120,000 under 5 years.
The next immunisation activities are scheduled for October.
Surveillance and immunization activities are being strengthened in neighbouring countries.
The Middle East
In Syria, one new type 2 circulating vaccine-derived polio (cVDPV2) case was reported from Mayadeen district, Deir-Ez-Zour governorate. This brings the total number of cases in this outbreak to 40. Onset of paralysis of these cases is between 3 March and 13 July.
The bulk of all cases are from Mayadeen, the epicentre of this outbreak.
Confirmation of additional cases is not unexpected at this time and does not change the operational situation, as outbreak response plans are implemented, in line with internationally-agreed outbreak response protocols.
The second immunization round for Deir-Ez-Zor was completed on 28 August. Monovalent OPV2 was provided for children between 0-59 months of age, and inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) for children 2-23 months.
Read the latest polio update/situation report [here]9http://www.emro.who.int/syr/syria-infocus/situation-reports-on-the-polio-outbreak-in-syria.html).