ReliefWeb

Key highlights

• No new cases of cVDPV2 were reported this week. The total number of cVDPV2 cases remains 74. The most recent case (by date of onset of paralysis) is 21 September 2017 from Boukamal district, Deir Ez-Zor governorate.

• An inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) immunization round continues in accessible areas of Aleppo utilizing mobile and fixed teams. To date the round has reached a total of 233,518 children aged 2-23 months, representing 71% of the estimated target, in Damascus, Hasakah, parts of Aleppo governorates, and Jurmana district of rural Damascus.

• All empty vials of monovalent Oral Polio Vaccine type 2 (mOPV2) have been collected and destroyed in Damascus.

• Preparations are ongoing for a nationwide immunization round utilizing bivalent OPV (bOPV), which is planned for March. The campaign will target all children aged less than 5 years.

• An independent external surveillance review has concluded in Iraq. The Ministry of Health Iraq has accepted a key recommendation to revitalize the AFP surveillance system in conflict affected northern governorates bordering Syria.

• The Global Certification Commission for Polio Eradication in its 17th meeting in Geneva acknowledged the dedication of frontline health workers and their efforts to help control the cVDPV2 outbreak in Syria, noting innovative operational strategies used to overcome challenges in the field to reach all children and to ensure adequate specimen transportation.