Polio this week as of  21 September 2016

• Launching soon: the new look of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative web site! Keep a lookout for the new design, which will allow visitors to see the latest information on the programme, interactive data visualizations and media content including photo essays and videos. Existing resources from our current website will be available on the new site as well.

• Regional outbreak response in Nigeria and the Lake Chad sub-region is continuing. Quality and impact of current outbreak response is being evaluated and analysed, and corrective measures implemented as appropriate. See ‘Nigeria’ and ‘Lake Chad sub-region’ sections below for more.

• New on www.polioeradication.org :  The hidden risks of polio transmission in Africa; Nigeria and Lake Chad Polio Outbreak Appeal; and Public health emergency declared in Lake Chad basin following Nigeria polio outbreak.

Wild poliovirus type 1 and Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus cases

Case breakdown by country

NA: onset of paralysis in most recent case is prior to 2015. Figures exclude non-AFP sources. Lao PDR, Madagascar and Ukraine cVDPV1, all others cVDPV2. cVDPV definition: see document "Reporting and classification of vaccine-derived polioviruses" at http://www.polioeradication.org/Portals/0/Document/Resources/VDPV_ReportingClassification.pdf. Implementation as of 15 August 2015.

• No new cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) were reported in the past week. The total number of WPV1 cases for 2016 remains nine. The most recent case had onset of paralysis on 11 August, from Paktika province, close to the border with Pakistan.
• No WPV1 environmental positive samples have been reported in 2016. The most recent environmental positive samples were collected on 27 December 2015 - one in Jalalabad district of Nangarhar province and the second in the city of Kabul.
• The next immunization campaigns are scheduled for early October and early November
  
  

• No new cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) were reported in the past week. The total number of WPV1 cases for 2016 remains 14. The most recent case had onset of paralysis on 27 July, from South Waziristan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
• No new WPV1 environmental positive samples were reported in the past week.
• Continued detection of environmental positive samples throughout 2016 confirms that virus transmission continues to be geographically widespread across the country, despite strong improvements being achieved.
• Efforts continue to further strengthen immunization and surveillance activities in all provinces of the country.
  
  

• No new cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type one (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. The total number of cVDPV1 cases remains three in 2016 and eight in 2015.
• Outbreaks of cVDPVs can arise in areas with low population immunity, emphasizing the importance of maintaining strong vaccination coverage.
• An Outbreak Response Assessment (OBRA) took place from 15-19 August, reporting progress whilst emphasizing the work that needs to be done to remove the subnational gaps in surveillance that remain.
  
  
  
  

• More than one year has passed since the most recent circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type one (cVDPV1) case, which had onset of paralysis on 22 August 2015, from Sud-Ouest region. No cases of cVDPV1 have been reported in 2016. The total number of cVDPV1 cases for 2015 is 10.
• The fourth Outbreak Response Assessment (OBRA) in Madagascar in August found that circulation of cVDPV1 had probably been interrupted, however further improvements in surveillance in high-risk areas were needed for a definitive assessment.
• National Immunization Days (NIDs) are planned for 9-11 November using bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV).
  
  

• No cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type two (cVDPV2) have been reported in 2016. The most recent case was isolated from a 16-month old child in Maungdaw district of Rakhine state, with onset of paralysis on 5 October 2015. The total number of cVDPV2 cases in 2015 is two.

• No new cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) were reported in the past week. The total number of WPV1 cases for 2016 remains three. The most recent case had onset of paralysis on 6 August, from Monguno Local Government Area (LGA), Borno state.
• Emergency regional outbreak response is continuing, under the guidance of the Polio Eradication Emergency Operations Center (EOC), led by the Government of Nigeria and with support from WHO and GPEI partners. The outbreak response is being coordinated with neighbouring countries, and in the broader humanitarian emergency response context affecting the region. Similar approaches to outbreak response were successfully implemented in previous years in the Middle East and the Horn of Africa.
• A campaign in Borno and surrounding states was conducted this week, including with inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) co-administered with bivalent oral polio vaccine (OPV) in key areas. Strong community turn-out was reported, with high levels of acceptance rates.
• Insecurity and inaccessibility continues to hamper efforts in some areas, while operational challenges continue to be addressed such as improving training of health workers.
  
  

• The recent detection of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in Borno state, Nigeria, poses a risk to the neighbouring countries of the Lake Chad sub-region and hence an outbreak response plan is being implemented as part of the response to the Nigeria outbreak.
• Health leaders at last month’s Regional Committee for Africa declared the situation to be a regional public health emergency for the Lake Chad sub-region.
• A regional outbreak response is currently ongoing, to reach more than 10 million children across Central African Republic, Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon. The activity is being coordinated and planned across all countries, with particular focus on sharing of data and focus on population movements. Some areas are currently inaccessible, due to a combination of insecurity and flooding due to the rainy season.
  
  

• No circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type two (cVDPV2) cases have been reported from Guinea in 2016. The most recent case was reported from Kankan district, with onset of paralysis on 14 December. The total number of cVDPV2 cases for 2015 is seven. The 2015 cases are genetically linked to the case with onset in August 2014.
• National Immunization Days (NIDs) are planned in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone from 30 September-3 October; and in Niger, Subnational Immunization Days (SNIDs) are currently ongoing. NIDs are also planned in Benin, Guinea, Liberia, Mali and Sierra Leone from 28-31 October. SNIDs are planned in Mauritania from 28-31 October, and in Niger starting on 9 October with a subsequent round on 28-31 October.