Poliovirus Weekly Update 30-Oct-2013, World Health Organization Please scroll to the end for a summary of officially reported wild polio cases. New wild polio cases reported in the past week for 2013: 24 Total number of wild cases in 2012: 223 Total number of wild cases in 2013: 322 Headlines · Following reports of a cluster of 22 acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) cases on 17 October 2013 in the Syrian Arab Republic, wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) has been isolated from ten of the cases under investigation. Final genetic sequencing results are pending. Wild poliovirus was last reported in Syria in 1999. A wide-ranging outbreak response plan is urgently being finalized for Syria and countries in the region. For more on the Syria outbreak, please click here · South Sudan has been removed from the list of countries with WPV1. Results of additional molecular and genetic testing by the Global Polio Specialized Laboratory at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have revealed that an initial instance of simultaneous handling of test specimens from a number of countries in the Horn of Africa resulted in the unintended contamination of the South Sudan specimens with WPV1. · The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) for polio eradication, following its 1-3 October meeting, has published its IMB report to the Polio Oversight Board. For the full report in English, please click here. Afghanistan No new WPV1 case was reported in the past week. The total number of WPV cases for 2013 remains eight (all WPV1), all of which were reported from Eastern Region, close to the Pakistan border. The most recent WPV1 case had onset of paralysis on 19 September, from Kunar province. No new circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) cases were reported in the past week. The total number of cVDPV2 cases in 2013 remains three. The most recent cVDPV2 case had onset of paralysis on 13 March (from Kandahar, Southern Region). Two national immunization days (NIDs) were conducted on 6-8 and 27-29 October. Subnational immunization days (SNIDs) are planned for mid and late November. Nigeria No new WPV case was reported this week. The total number of WPV cases for 2013 remains 49 (all WPV1s). The most recent WPV1 case in the country had onset of paralysis on 10 September (from Kano). No new cVDPV2 cases were reported in the past week. The total number of cVDPV2 cases for 2013 remains one (with onset of paralysis on 6 June, from Borno). OPV was administered along with measles vaccine during Child Health Days (CHDs) in north and middle-band states on 5-9 October. Additional CHDs are planned in middle-band and southern states in early November. SNIDs are planned for northern states mid-November. Pakistan Seven new WPV1 cases were reported in the past week. Four were reported from Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and one from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Punjab and Sindh respectively. The total number of WPV1 cases for Pakistan in 2013 is now 53. The most recent WPV1 case had onset of paralysis on 5 October (from Khyber Agency, FATA). The majority of WPV1 cases in Pakistan this year, 38 (72%), are from FATA, of which 16 are from Khyber Agency and 15 from North Waziristan. One new cVDPV2 case was reported in the past week. The total number of cVDPV2 cases for Pakistan is now 30. The most recent cVDPV2 case had onset of paralysis 26 September (from North Waziristan). The situation in North Waziristan is dire. It is the area with the largest number of children being paralyzed by poliovirus in all of Asia (15 WP1 and 23 cVDPV2 cases). It is in an area where immunization activities have been suspended by local leaders since June 2012. It is critical that children in these areas are vaccinated and protected from poliovirus. Immunizations in neighboring high-risk areas are being intensified, to further boost population immunity levels in those areas and prevent further spread of this outbreak. NIDs were conducted on 30 September to 2 October. SNIDs were conducted on 14-16 October using bOPV. NIDs are planned for early November. Chad, Cameroon and Central African Republic In Chad, no new WPV cases were reported in the past week. The most recent WPV case had onset of paralysis on 14 June 2012 (WPV1 from Lac). No new cVDPV2 cases were reported in the past week. The total number of cVDPV2 cases for 2013 remains four (the most recent cVDPV2 case had onset of paralysis on 12 May from Ennedi). A nationwide immunization campaign was conducted 25-27 October. The next NIDs are planned for late November. In Cameroon, no new WPV1 case was reported in the past week. The most recent, and the only case in Cameroon since 2009, had onset of paralysis on 1 October 2013 (WPV1 from Ouest). An outbreak response is currently underway. In 2013, five large-scale supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) have already been conducted in Cameroon (in April, May, August, September and October), as the country was considered at high-risk of re-infection due to its proximity with Nigeria. The most recent NIDs were conducted on 25-27 October. Planning for a November NIDs is ongoing with dates to be confirmed No new cVDPV2 cases were reported in the past week in Cameroon. The total number of cVDPV2 cases for 2013 remains four. The most recent case had onset of paralysis on 12 August (from Kolfata, Extreme-Nord). Central African Republic (CAR) continues to be at serious risk of re-infection due to proximity with Chad, ongoing insecurity and humanitarian crises, and destruction of health infrastructure. To minimize the risk and consequences of potential re-infection, SNIDs were conducted on 30 September to 2 October and CHD are planned for mid-November. Horn of Africa In Ethiopia, one new WPV1 case was reported from the Somali region in the past week. In Somalia, six new WPV1 cases were reported this week (two from Bay region and one from Bakool, Lower Juba, Middle Juba, and Lower Shabelle regions respectively). The total number of WPV cases (all WPV1) for 2013 in the Horn of Africa is now 201 (180 from Somalia, 14 from Kenya and seven from Ethiopia). The most recent WPV1 case in the region had onset of paralysis on 30 September (from Lower Shabelle, Somalia). Outbreak response across the Horn of Africa is continuing. As a result of concerted outbreak response efforts, the impact of the response is beginning to be seen, as the number of newly-reported cases from Banadir, Somalia (the epicentre of the outbreak) has declined. At the same time, operations are improving as more children are being reached, including in some inaccessible areas of south-central Somalia. However, more needs to be done, because as many as 500,000 children still remain inaccessible in parts of south-central Somalia and other areas of the Horn of Africa remain at risk of re-infection. NIDs were completed in Djibouti and Ethiopia alongside with SNIDs in Yemen in early October. In Somalia, nationwide immunization campaigns targeting all age groups were conducted 20-24 October. In South Sudan SNIDs targeting under 15 year olds were carried out 22-24 October. Israel and West Bank and Gaza Although no case of paralytic polio has been reported, environmental surveillance suggests that WPV1 transmission, first detected in February 2013, continues in southern and parts of central Israel. WPV1-positive samples were detected also in West Bank (2 sites) and the Gaza Strip (1 site). Since 2005, only inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) has been used for routine childhood immunization in Israel. To interrupt WPV1 transmission, a nationwide supplementary immunization activity (SIA) with bivalent OPV targeting children < 10 years of age has been ongoing since August. Following a consultation with the countrys immunization advisory group, the Israeli Ministry of Health has recently decided to re-introduce OPV into the national immunization schedule. SIAs in West Bank and Gaza Strip have been tentatively scheduled for early November. Syrian Arab Republic Following reports of a cluster of 22 acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) cases on 17 October 2013 in the Syrian Arab Republic, wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) has been isolated from ten of the cases under investigation. Final genetic sequencing results are pending. Wild poliovirus was last reported in Syria in 1999. A comprehensive outbreak response is currently underway. Supplementary immunization activities commenced in Syria on 24 October. The main aim is to rapidly reach children in the immediately-affected and high-risk areas, followed by wider scale immunization campaigns. In further response to the Syria outbreak, multiple large-scale SIAs targeting 22 million children over the next 6 months (starting from early November) are being planned across the region (including Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Egypt, Iraq and occupied Palestinian territory (West Bank and Gaza). For more on Syria, visit who.int/csr/don/2013_10_29/en/index.html West Africa No new WPV cases were reported in the past week. The most recent case in the region was a WPV1 from Tahoua province in Niger with onset of paralysis on 15 November 2012. No new cVDPV2 cases were reported in the past week from Niger. The country has reported a single case of cVDPV in 2013, with onset of paralysis on 11 July. Genetic sequencing has shown that the virus is related to that seen in Cameroon, Chad and Nigeria (Borno). Multi-country synchronized immunization campaigns were conducted in West Africa 25-28 October. Additional subnational campaigns are planned in the region for late November. Officially reported wild polio virus cases on 29 Oct 2013 Total global cases in 2013: 322 (compared with 177 for the same period in 2012) Total in endemic countries in 2013: 110 (compared with 172 for the same period in 2012) Total in non-endemic countries in 2013: 212 (compared with 5 for the same period in 2012) · Pakistan: 53 cases in 2013 (compared with 47 for the same period in 2012), onset of paralysis of most recent case: 05-Oct-13 · Syrian Arab Republic: 10 cases in 2013 (compared with 0 for the same period in 2012), onset of paralysis of most recent case: 03-Oct-13 · Cameroon: 1 case in 2013 (compared with 0 for the same period in 2012), onset of paralysis of most recent case: 01-Oct-13 · Somalia: 180 cases in 2013 (compared with 0 for the same period in 2012), onset of paralysis of most recent case: 30-Sep-13 · Afghanistan: 8 cases in 2013 (compared with 26 for the same period in 2012), onset of paralysis of most recent case: 19-Sep-13 · Ethiopia: 7 cases in 2013 (compared with 0 for the same period in 2012), onset of paralysis of most recent case: 19-Sep-13 · Nigeria: 49 cases in 2013 (compared with 99 for the same period in 2012), onset of paralysis of most recent case: 10-Sep-13 · Kenya: 14 cases in 2013 (compared with 0 for the same period in 2012), onset of paralysis of most recent case: 14-Jul-13 · Chad: 0 case in 2013 (compared with 5 for the same period in 2012), onset of paralysis of most recent case: 14-Jun-12
Posted on: Fri, 01 Nov 2013 14:14:03 +0000
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