Polio this week as of 20 November 2018

Summary of new viruses this week: Afghanistan –five wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) positive environmental samples. Pakistan –one WPV1 positive environmental sample. Papua New Guinea – three cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 (cVDPV1). DRC- one case of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2). Nigeria – two cases of cVDPV2. Somalia- two cVDPV2 positive environmental samples. See country sections below for more details.

The Islamic Advisory Group (IAG) for Polio Eradication concluded its fifth annual meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on 14 November 2018, reaffirming a renewed commitment to continue supporting the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, protecting children against all vaccine-preventable diseases and expanding its mandate to support other health priorities. The full meeting statement is available here.

Featured on www.polioeradication.org: Coffee with Polio Experts – Dr. Zubair Wadood, Senior Epidemiologist and Technical Expert WHO, talks about the remaining operational challenges when it comes to reaching every last child with polio vaccine