A virus anywhere can be a threat everywhere – outbreak response simulation helps readiness
The best outbreak response starts before an outbreak occurs. Regular simulation exercises help ensure countries are ready to quickly detect and respond to polio and other health threats, protecting communities and strengthening health security. Read more about such an exercise recently held in Egypt.
Polio forgotten, but not gone – podcast by London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Part of the award-winning podcast series LSHTM Viral, focusing on science behind global and public health, Polio: Forgotten But Not Gone, explores the continued risk of polio resurgence and what is needed to sustain progress towards eradication. It features Team End Polio Champion and polio survivor Anne Wafula Strike, who speaks about the lifelong impact of polio and the role of advocacy in keeping attention on eradication. Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, discusses polio vaccines, wastewater detection and barriers to childhood immunisation in the UK. And Dr. Zubair Wadood from WHO addresses vaccine misinformation and outlines some of the geopolitical, conflict-related and community trust challenges that continue to shape eradication efforts in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The episode frames polio as a continued global health security concern, particularly in the context of recent polio wastewater detections in London, declining immunisation rates and pressure on surveillance funding.
Summary of new polioviruses this week:
- Pakistan: three WPV1-positive environmental samples
- Chad: two cVDPV2 cases and one cVDPV3 case
- Ethiopia: two cVDPV1 cases
- Madagascar: one cVDPV1 case
- Nigeria: one cVDPV2 case
