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Polio this week as of 30 March 2016

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Afghanistan

One new cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) were reported in the past week, in Nawzad district of Hilmand province, with onset of paralysis on 23 January. The total number of WPV1 cases for 2016 remains 2, compared to 1 reported for 2015 at this point last year.

No new WPV1 environmental positive samples were reported in the past week. The most recent environmental positive samples were collected on 27 December 2015 - one in Jalalabad in Nangarhar province and the second in the city of Kabul.

Sub-National Immunization Days (SNIDs) are planned from 19 to 22 April, prior to the switch. Read more about the switch here.

Pakistan

One new wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case was reported in the last week, in Shikarpur district of Sindh province, with onset of paralysis on 5 March. The total number of WPV1 cases for 2016 is now 7, compared to 20 reported at the same date last year.

One new WPV1 environmental positive sample was reported in the past week, in Peshawar district with collection date on 2 March.

Sub-National Immunization Days (NIDs) are planned in April using bOPV.

Lao People's Democratic Republic

No new cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 (cVDPV1) were reported in the past week. The most recent case was reported in Fuang district of Vientiane province, with onset of paralysis on 11 January 2016. The total number of cVDPV1 cases in 2015 remains 8 and in 2016 remains 3.

Outbreaks of cVDPVs can arise in areas with low population immunity, emphasizing the importance of maintaining strong vaccination coverage. Learn more about VDPVs.

An emergency outbreak response is continuing in the country, with particular focus on three high-risk provinces.

Efforts continue to further strengthen surveillance activities in all provinces of the country, to ensure that no cVPDV1 transmission is missed anywhere.

Madagascar

No new cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 (cVDPV1) were reported in the past week. The most recent case had onset of paralysis on 22 August from Sud-Ouest region. The total number of cVDPV1 cases for 2015 remains 10.

The 2015 cases are genetically linked to the case with onset of paralysis in September 2014, indicating prolonged and widespread circulation of the virus. Learn more about vaccine derived polioviruses here.

The emergency outbreak response continues to be intensified. National Immunization Days (NIDs) are planned from 14 to 18 March and 11 to 15 April using tOPV.

Myanmar

No new cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) have been reported in the past week. The most recent case was isolated from a 16-month old child in Maungdaw, Rakhine, with onset of paralysis on 05 October. The total number of cVDPV2 cases in 2015 remains 2.

The case was genetically linked to a VDPV isolated in the same township in April 2015, which has now been reclassified as a cVDPV type 2. The genetic changes in the isolate suggest the cVDPV2 has been circulating for more than a year. Learn more about vaccine derived polioviruses here.

Significant immunization gaps remain in Myanmar, with an estimated 24% of children un- or under-immunized (source: WHO-UNICEF best estimates, 8 January 2016). Vaccination coverage remains particularly low among special at-risk populations. AFP surveillance quality indicators are acceptable at the national level, but subnational gaps persist.

While WHO assesses the risk of international spread from Myanmar to be low, surveillance and immunization activities are being strengthened in neighbouring countries.

Nigeria

No new wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases were reported in the past week. No cases were reported in 2015. The most recent case had onset of paralysis on 24 July 2014 in Sumaila Local Government Area (LGA), southern Kano state.

No new cases of type 2 circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV2) were reported in the past week. The most recent case had onset of paralysis in Kwali Local Government Area (LGA), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, with onset of paralysis on 16 May 2015; this is the only cVDPV2 case reported in Nigeria in 2015.

Vigilance must be maintained to ensure that all children are reached with polio vaccines and that surveillance systems remains alert to polioviruses.

Sub-National Immunization Days (NIDs) are planned from 14 to 17 May using bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV).

Ukraine

No new circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 (cVDPV1) cases have been reported in the past week. The most recent case had onset of paralysis on 7 July 2015 in the Zakarpatskaya oblast, in south-western Ukraine, bordering Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland. The number of cVDPV1 cases reported in 2015 remains 2.

Ukraine had been at particular risk of emergence of a cVDPV, due to very low vaccination coverage. Learn more about vaccine derived polioviruses here.

West Africa

No new circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) cases were reported from Guinea in the past week. The most recent was reported from Kankan district, with onset of paralysis on 14 December. The total number of cVDPV2 cases for 2015 remains 7. The 2015 cases are genetically linked to the case with onset in August 2014.

National Immunization Days (NIDs) will be carried out in Benin, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire and Niger at the start of April. All campaigns are using trivalent oral polio vaccine (tOPV).