Polio this week as of 8 November 2017
New on polioeradication.org: Michel Zaffran, Director of Polio Eradication, spoke to Gavi about where we are on the road to eradication, whilst we documented the story of Abdullah Khalid, a hard working vaccinator protecting children from polio at the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
Health Ministers at the G7 summit in Milan this week reaffirmed their commitment to polio eradication, recognising “the importance of continuing our efforts to succeed and keep the world sustainably polio-free”.
Summary of newly-reported viruses this week: Afghanistan: One new wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case, reported in Batikot district in Nangarhar province. Syria: Ten new circulating vaccine derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) cases reported, eight in Mayadeen district, and two in Boukamal district, Deir Ez-Zor governorate. Four new cVDPV2 positive contacts reported, three in Mayadeen district, and one in Boukamal district, Deir Ez-Zor governorate.
See country-specific sections for further details.
One new wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case was reported this week in Batikot district in Nangarhar province, with onset of paralysis on 11 October 2017.
The total number of officially reported WPV1 cases in Afghanistan in 2017 is now nine.
A subnational vaccination campaign is currently being implemented targeting over 5 million children aged less than five years.
Read the latest polio update from Afghanistan to see information on cases, surveillance and vaccination campaigns.
No new wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases were reported in the past week. The total number of WPV1 cases in 2017 in Pakistan remains five.
No new wild poliovirus 1 (WPV1) positive environmental samples were reported in the last week.
Planning is ongoing for scheduled national immunization days (SNIDs) taking place later this month, aiming to reach about 37 million children aged less than five years across the country.
The National Polio Management Team convened earlier this week to review the implementation of the National Emergency Action Plan, identifying the challenges faced, and planning a way forward to address them.
Read the latest polio update from Pakistan to see information on cases, surveillance and vaccination campaigns.
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, Borno.
Nigeria continues to implement an 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. As part of the emergency response, subnational surveillance continues to be strengthened.
Subnational immunization days successfully took place between 3-5 November, with vaccinators protecting over 10 million children under the age of 5 years from polio using bOPV. Data on the quality of the campaign will be consolidated and analyzed over the coming weeks.
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.
Emergency outbreak response efforts continue across the Lake Chad basin, together with activities to fill subnational surveillance gaps across the region.
These activities include efforts to vaccinate children at markets, in internally displaced persons camps, and at international borders.
The second Outbreak Response Assessment (OBRA) for the region continues. In Central African Republic and in Nigeria, where the assessment is taking place from 29 October -10 November, teams are close to completion, whilst in Chad and Niger, assessments will continue until 15 November. The OBRA teams aim to construct a detailed picture of the outbreak response in each country, to help inform next steps.
Immunization days took place last week in all Lake Chad Basin countries, demonstrating coordination between different country authorities and offices in order to reduce the risk of virus spread.
Read the latest polio update from the Lake Chad Basin to see information on cases, surveillance and vaccination campaigns.
No new cases of type 2 circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV2) were reported this week in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo). The total number of cVDPV2 cases this year is ten.
Most cases this year are linked to an outbreak in Haut Lomami province, where the onset of paralysis of the most recent case was 27 July.
A separate outbreak occurred in Maniema province earlier this year, consisting of 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 continues to take place across the DRC, including use of monovalent oral polio vaccine type 2 (mOPV2) in line with internationally-agreed outbreak response protocols.
The next routine immunization activity, taking place later this month, is a mop-up campaign of several provinces in the south of the country. Using mOPV2, vaccinators aim to protect over 800,000 children from polio.
Surveillance and immunization activities continue to be strengthened in neighbouring countries.
Ten new cases of cVDPV2 were reported this week from Mayadeen and Boukamal districts, Deir Ez-Zor governorate. Isolates from some cases had been laboratory pending for some time.
The most recent case (by date of onset) remains 25 August. All confirmed cases to date have had onset of paralysis between 3 March and 25 August 2017.
The total number of cVDPV2 cases in Syria in 2017 is now 63.
There were also four new cVDPV2 positive contacts reported in Deir Ez-Zor governorate. Three contact samples were collected in Mayadeen district, two on 29 July, and one on 31 July, and one contact sample was collected in Boukamal district on 6 August.
IPV will be offered to children aged between 2 – 23 months in areas of Damascus and Rural Damascus with large internally displaced populations in the upcoming Sub-National Immunization Days (SNIDs), targeting children under the age of five with bOPV. The campaign is planned for 19 November.
250,000 doses of IPV have arrived in Damascus, which will ensure a continuous supply of vaccine for routine immunization activities in coming months. Syria is finalizing planning for targeted vaccination with IPV and is finalizing a request for additional IPV vaccine for additional campaign activities in Hasakah, Aleppo Damascus and Rural Damascus governorate.
Preparations are underway for a six-week campaign to vaccinate 122,000 children under the age of five with IPV in Lebanon. The activity aims to reach both unvaccinated Lebanese children and Syrian children in Lebanon, particularly those living in Informal Tented Settlements.
The International Monitoring Board (the GPEI’s highest independent review mechanism) met last week in London to assess progress towards global interruption of all poliovirus circulation. The IMB reviewed the quality of the Syrian outbreak response to date and will provide recommendations through its report on how Syria can strengthen its outbreak response activities in the coming months.
Read the latest polio update from Syria to see information on cases, surveillance and vaccination campaigns.