Polio this week as of 07 February 2018

Polio this week as of 07 February 2018

• New on http://polioeradication.org/: protecting children on the move in Pakistan; and, following the workday of female polio vaccinators in Afghanistan.
• Watch long-time polio eradicators Hans Everts and Mohammed Mohammedi share their experiences from the frontline of outbreak response and describe the remaining challenges to reaching a polio-free world, in the latest ‘Coffee with Polio Experts’ videos.
• Summary of newly-reported viruses this week: Afghanistan: Two new cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) have been confirmed in Kandahar province, following advance notification last week. One new WPV1 positive environmental sample collected from Kandahar province. Pakistan: Two new WPV1 positive environmental samples collected, from Islamabad and Punjab provinces. Democratic Republic of the Congo: One new case of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) has been confirmed in Tanganyika province. See country-specific sections for further details.

NA: onset of paralysis in most recent case is prior to 2015. Figures exclude non-AFP sources. Lao PDR cVDPV1, all others cVDPV2. cVDPV definition: see document “Reporting and classification of vaccine-derived polioviruses” at [pdf]

Weekly country updates as of 07 February 2018

Afghanistan

• Following advance notification last week, two new cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) have been officially reported in Kandahar province, with onset of paralysis on 5 and 6 January 2018. The total number of WPV1 cases in Afghanistan in 2018 is now three.
• One new WPV1 positive environmental sample was reported in the past week, from Kandahar province, with collection date on 8 January 2018.
• The next set of supplementary immunization days are planned on 12 February, during which vaccinators will aim to vaccinate children across 24 provinces. The days are synchronised with a campaign that will take place in Pakistan, part of efforts to interrupt transmission of the virus across the shared border.
• Read the latest polio update from Afghanistan to see information on cases, surveillance and vaccination campaigns.

Pakistan

• No new cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) were reported in the past week. The total number of officially reported WPV1 cases in Pakistan in 2017 remains eight. There are no cases reported in 2018.
• The most recent case (by date of onset) was reported in Zhob district, Balochistan province, with onset on 15 November 2017. Two new WPV1 positive environmental samples were reported in the past week, from Islamabad and Punjab provinces, both collected on 10 January 2018.
• The next set of supplementary immunization days are planned on 12 February, during which vaccinators will aim to vaccinate about 37 million children across the country. The days are synchronised with a campaign that will take place in Afghanistan, part of efforts to interrupt transmission of the virus across the shared border.
• 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 (by date of onset) was reported in Monguno Local Government Area, Borno, with onset on 21 August 2016.
• 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).
• Post-campaign data from the January supplementary immunization days in Nigeria is being collated. - The campaign aimed to vaccinate over 26 million children using bOPV.
• The next immunization days are planned for early March.
• As part of the emergency response, subnational surveillance continues to be strengthened.

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.
• 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 next set of supplementary immunization days are planned for early March, and will be synchronized across the whole Lake Chad region.
• Read the latest polio update from the Lake Chad basin to see information on surveillance and vaccination campaigns.

Central Africa

• One new case of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) was reported this week in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), from Ankoro district, Tanganyika province, with onset of paralysis on 20 November 2017.
• The most recent case (by date of onset) was reported in Ankoro district, Tanganyika province, with onset on 25 November 2017.
• The total number of officially reported cVDPV2 cases in the DRC in 2017 is now 18. There are no cases reported in 2018.
• Outbreak response continues to take place across the country, including use of monovalent oral polio vaccine type 2 (mOPV2) in line with internationally-agreed outbreak response protocols.
• Children living in the districts where the latest cases were reported were last targeted with mOPV2 during December vaccination days.
• The next set of supplementary immunization days are planned for late February. Surveillance and immunization activities continue to be strengthened in neighbouring countries.
• Read the latest polio update from the DRC to see information on surveillance and vaccination campaigns.
• Learn more about vaccine-derived polioviruses through this short animation.

The Middle East

• No new cases of circulating vaccine derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) were reported this week.
• The most recent case (by date of onset) was reported in Boukamal district, Deir Ez-Zor governorate with onset on 21 September 2017.
• The total number of officially reported cVDPV2 cases in Syria in 2017 remains 74. There are no cases reported in 2018.
• An IPV vaccination round is currently in progress as part of the second phase of the outbreak response, in Damascus, Hasakah, Aleppo governorates and Jurmana district of rural Damascus. IPV is being delivered through fixed centres.
• Children in Hasakah governorate who were missed by mOPV2 vaccination in first round will receive mOPV2 alongside IPV.
• Read the latest polio update from Syria to see information on cases, surveillance and vaccination campaigns.
• Learn more about vaccine-derived polioviruses through this short animation or this ‘Coffee with Polio Experts’ video.