Polio this week as of 7 October 2015   

• Afghanistan became the final polio-endemic country to introduce the inactivated polio vaccine on 30 September as part of the biggest globally synchronized vaccine introduction in history. 

• This week, the Independent Monitoring Board is meeting in London to assess progress towards polio eradication and to make recommendations for the coming months. The report is expected to be published in the next few weeks.

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 2014. Figures exclude non-AFP sources. Madagascar & 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 wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases were reported in the past week. The most recent case had onset of paralysis on 6 September in Sherzad district of Nangarhar province. The total number of WPV1 cases for 2015 remains 12.
• Genetic sequencing is awaited to determine whether these cases represent spread of the virus previously reported in Achin or whether they are new importations from neighbouring Pakistan. Afghanistan has repeatedly stopped poliovirus transmission following importations in this region, and previous experience is driving the response to these cases.
• One new environmental sample positive for WPV1 was collected in Kandahar on 26 August.
• Environmental surveillance allows detection of continuing circulation of polioviruses, not just in known infected areas but also in areas without confirmed polio cases. Environmental surveillance continues to be a very helpful supplemental surveillance tool enabling the programme to increase the overall sensitivity of surveillance for polioviruses.
• National Immunization Days (NIDs) will take place on 18 - 20 October using trivalent oral polio vaccine (OPV) and Subnational Immunization Days (SNIDs) are planned from 15 – 17 November in the south and east of the country using bivalent OPV.

• Four new wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases were confirmed in the past week; two with onset of paralysis in Peshawar district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, one in Quetta district of Balochistan and one in FR Peshawar district of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, which is the first case in this district in 2015. The most recent case had onset of paralysis on 16 September in Peshawar. The total number of WPV1 cases for 2015 is now 36, compared to 186 at this time last year.
• No new type 2 circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV2) cases were reported in the past week, and no cases have been reported in 2015. The number of cVDPV2 cases reported in 2014 remains 22. The most recent case had onset of paralysis on 13 December 2014.
• Two new environmental samples positive for WPV1 were reported in the last week, one collected in Peshawar district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on 24 August and the second in Quetta district of Balochistan on 28 August.

• No new wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases were reported in the past week. No cases have been reported in 2015. In 2014, 10 cases were reported in central Africa: 5 in Cameroon and 5 in Equatorial Guinea. The most recent case in central Africa was in Cameroon, with onset of paralysis on 9 July.
• In October, National Immunization Days (NIDs) are planned in Angola, Chad, Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of Congo, and Subnational Immunization Days (SNIDs) in the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, all using trivalent oral polio vaccine (OPV).

• No wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases have been reported in the past week and no cases have been reported in 2015. The total number of WPV1 cases that were reported in the Horn of Africa in 2014 was 6: 1 in Ethiopia (with onset of paralysis on 5 January) and 5 in Somalia. The most recent case of WPV1 in the Horn of Africa had onset of paralysis on 11 August 2014 in the Hobyo district of Mudug province, central Somalia.
• No cases of type 2 circulating vaccine derived poliovirus (cVDPV2) have been reported in the past week. No cases have been reported in 2015. In 2014, 2 cases were reported in South Sudan. The most recent case of cVDPV2 had onset of paralysis in South Sudan on 12 September 2014.
• National Immunization Days (NIDs) are planned in Somalia in October, and Subnational Immunization Days (SNIDs) in South Sudan. In November, NIDs are planned in Kenya and South Sudan and SNIDs in Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan.

• 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 in Mahajanga 1 district of Mahajanga province with onset of paralysis on 7 July.  The total number of cVDPV1 cases for 2015 remains nine. The total number of cVDPV1 cases reported in 2014 was one. 
• The 2015 cases are genetically linked to the case reported 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. A second round of National Immunization Days (NIDs) took place in September covering an expanded age group of up to 15 years. Extended age group NIDs are also planned for 12 – 16 October using bivalent oral polio vaccine, and in November with dates to be confirmed.

• No new wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases have been reported in the past week. No cases have been reported in 2015.  Three cases of WPV1 were reported in the Middle East in 2014 - 2 in Iraq and 1 in Syria. 
• The most recent case reported from Syria had onset of paralysis on 21 January 2014, while the most recent case in Iraq had onset of paralysis in Mada'in district, Baghdad-Resafa province, on 7 April 2014. 
• Phase III of the Middle East outbreak response is continuing to further strengthen vaccination services for vulnerable populations and to strengthen surveillance for polioviruses across the region.

• No new wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases were reported in the past week. No cases have been reported in 2015. Nigeria’s total WPV1 case count for 2014 remains six. 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; this is the only cVDPV2 case reported in Nigeria in 2015.
• In September Nigeria was removed from the list of polio-endemic countries following all samples in the polio laboratory being tested negative for wild poliovirus for a whole year following the most recent case on 24 July 2014. This is the first time that Nigeria has interrupted transmission of wild poliovirus, bringing the country and the African region closer than ever to being certified polio-free. Vigilance must be maintained to ensure that all children are reached with polio vaccines and that surveillance systems remain alert to polioviruses.
• Subnational Immunization Days (SNIDs) are planned in the north of the country on 17 - 19 October using trivalent OPV and on 5 – 7 December using bivalent OPV.

• 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 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 inadequate vaccination coverage. In 2014, only 50% of children were fully immunized against polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases. 
• Discussions are currently ongoing with national health authorities to plan and implement an urgent outbreak response. More.

• No wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases have been reported in the past week. The most recent WPV1 case in West Africa (excluding Nigeria) occurred in Tahoua province, Niger, with onset of paralysis on 15 November 2012.
• No new circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) cases were reported in the past week. The most recent case, a 19-month old boy, had onset of paralysis on 20 July in Guinea but was reported in Bamako, Mali. This case has officially been reassigned to Guinea. The closest genetic match to this case is from a case from Kankan, Guinea, from 30 August 2014. Discussions are currently ongoing with national health authorities to plan and implement an urgent outbreak response following the cVDPV2 outbreak. More
• National Immunization Days (NIDs) are planned in Benin and Mali, and Subnational Immunization Days (SNIDs) in Burkina Faso, Ghana and Niger in October using trivalent oral polio vaccine (OPV).