Polio this week

Headlines

  • GCC convenes in Geneva to review the current situation and deliberate on certification criteria for cVDPVs elimination:  Last week, the Global Commission for the Certification of Poliomyelitis Eradication (GCC) convened in Geneva, Switzerland. In a special joint session, the GCC and the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Certification Commission (RCC) reviewed the endemic wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) epidemiology in Afghanistan and Pakistan.  The joint meeting appreciated the ongoing eradication efforts in both remaining endemic countries, noting that WPV1-certification may still be feasible by 2026, while noting the efforts to stop WPV1 transmission will go beyond end-2023.  The GCC also noted the mid-term review’s assessment (see headline above) that interrupting cVDPV outbreaks would take further time, and that certification of elimination of such strains may be feasible by 2028, provided intensified efforts to stop these strains are further strengthened, to interrupt all circulation at the latest by 2025.  With this in mind, the GCC deliberated on the criteria for certifying the elimination of cVDPVs and reviewed the recommendations of an Expert Working Group, specially assigned for this piece of work. The GCC’s recommendations will be featured in the publication of its report, to be released in due course.
  • Initial GPEI response to mid-term review published:  following the publication of the Independent Monitoring Board’s (IMB) rigorous independent mid-term review of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s (GPEI) goals outlined in its Polio Eradication Strategy 2022-2026, the GPEI published its initial response to this mid-term review this week. This response was developed following the guidance of the Polio Oversight Board (POB) consisting of the Principals of the GPEI partner agencies which collectively evaluated the mid-term review at its in-person meeting in October.  The GPEI broadly agrees with the mid-term review’s assessment and is putting in place a number of corrective measures to overcome remaining technical, programmatic, geopolitical and insecurity challenges.  Our collective objective remains to urgently interrupt wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) transmission during 2024 and ensure the certification of its eradication as planned by end-2026, while further intensifying the response to circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV) outbreaks, to achieve interruption of these strains in 2025.  Based on this expert guidance, the GPEI/POB will be publishing an updated multi-year budget by Q2 2024 reflecting both these developments and incorporating new GCC guidance on the criteria for eradication of cVDPVs.
  • nOPV2 rollout: Approximately 950 million doses of nOPV2 have been administered across 35 countries under its WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL) to date. An additional 16 countries have met the requirements for nOPV2 use in the event of an outbreak. Visit the nOPV2 webpage for more information.

Summary of new polioviruses this week, cases and positive environmental isolates:

  • Central African Republic (CAR): one cVDPV2 case
  • Chad: two cVDPV2 cases
  • Côte d’Ivoire: four cVDPV2-positive environmental samples
  • DR Congo: one cVDPV2 case and one cVDPV2-positive environmental sample
  • Nigeria: seven cVDPV2-positive environmental samples

Country updates as of 29 November 2023

  • No WPV1 cases were reported this week. The total number of cases in 2023 remains six.
  • No WPV1-positive environmental samples were reported this week.
  • No WPV1 cases were reported this week. The number of 2023 cases remains five.
  • No WPV1-positive environmental samples were reported this week.
  • Intensified efforts continue to be implemented in the country, particularly in the southern area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to urgently stop remaining WPV1 transmission. Permanently stopping transmission in this province, and in Afghanistan’s East region – the remaining endemic zones and the source of all WPV1 detected outside of these areas – is a top priority.
  • Any virus detection outside the endemic zones is treated as per the GPEI outbreak response guidelines, to prevent re-establishment of transmission.
  • No cVDPV2 cases were reported this week. There were three cases reported last year.
  • No cVDPV2 positive environmental sample was reported this week.
  • No cVDPV2 cases were reported this week. There were 13 cases reported in 2022 while the number of 2023 cases stands at 3.
  • No cVDPV2 positive environmental samples were reported this week.
  • No cVDPV2 cases were reported this week. There have been two cases reported this year.
  • No cVDPV2 case was reported this week. There is one case reported this year and one last year.
  • No cVDPV2 cases were reported this week. There were three cases reported in 2022.
  • No cVDPV2 positive environmental samples were reported this week.
  • In August 2022, cVDPV2 was isolated from two environmental samples from a large wastewater treatment plant and a target site in the city of Montreal, Quebec. This was after the country conducted retrospective analysis of wastewater samples. Genetic sequencing confirmed linkage to the cVDPV2 case from New York, USA.
  • One cVDPV2 case was reported in RS4 province. There have been 14 cases reported this year and six cases in 2022.
  • Two cVDPV2 cases were reported; one each in Ouaddai and Tandjile. There have been 44 cases reported this year.
  • No cVDPV1 cases were reported this week. There was one case reported in 2022.
  • No cVDPV2 cases were reported this week. There have been five cases reported this year.
  • Four cVDPV2 positive environmental samples were reported; one in Abidjan 1 and three in Abidjan 2.
  • There are no polio cases reported in the country.
  • No cVDPV2 positive environmental samples were reported this week .  
  • No cVDPV1 cases were reported this week. The number of 2023 cases remains 83.
  • One cVDPV2 case was reported in Nord Ubangi. There have been 108 cases reported this year.
  • One cVDPV2-positive environmental sample was reported in Kinshasa.
  • There are no polio cases reported in the country.
  • No cVDPV2 positive environmental samples were reported this week. There have been six cVDPV2 positive environmental samples collected in the country this year.
  • No cVDPV2 cases were reported this week. There was one case reported in 2022.
  • No cVDPV2 case was reported this week. There was one case reported in 2022.
  • No cVDPV2 case was reported this week. There were three cases reported in 2022.
  • No cVDPV2 cases were reported this week. The number of cases reported this year remains 13.
  • No cVDPV2-positive environmental sample was reported.
  • No cVDPV2 case was reported this week. There have been three cases this year and one case in 2022.
  • No cVDPV2 cases were reported this week. There has been one cVDPV2 case reported this year.
  • In 2022, one cVDPV3 case was reported, with onset of paralysis on 12 February 2022, linked to cVDPV3-positive environmental samples previously detected in the country (25 positive samples in total were reported in 2022, the most recent sample was collected on 15 March 2022).
  • No cVDPV2 cases were reported this week. There have been eight cases reported this year.
  • No cVDPV2-positve environmental samples were reported this week.
  • No cVDPV1 cases were reported this week. There have been 23 cases reported this year and 16 cases in 2022.
  • No cVDPV1 positive environmental samples were reported this week.
  • No cVDPV1 cases were reported this week. There were four cases reported in the country in 2022.
  • One WPV1 case from 2021 was detected in 2022.
  • No cVDPV2 cases were reported this week.  There have been nine cases reported this year and two cases reported last year.
  • No cVDPV2 positive environmental samples were reported this week.
  • No WPV1 case was reported this week. There were eight cases reported in 2022.
  • No cVDPV1 cases were reported this week. There have been three cases reported this year and 22 cases reported last year.
  • No cVDPV2 cases were reported this week. There were four cases reported in 2022.
  • No cVDPV2 cases were reported this week. The number of 2022 cases remain 16.
  • No cVDPV2 positive environmental samples were reported this week.
  • No cVDPV2 cases were reported this week. There have been 43 cases reported this year.
  • Seven cVDPV2-positive environmental samples were reported; one each in Katsina and Kebbi and five in Sokoto.
  • No cVDPV2 cases were reported this week. There have been no polio cases since 2021.
  • No cVDPV2 cases were reported this week. There have been five cases reported this year and five cases in 2022.
  • No cVDPV2-positive environmental samples were reported.
  • No cVDPV2 cases were reported this week. There was one case reported in 2022.
  • The current conflict has severely impacted the delivery of healthcare and the function of health infrastructure throughout the country, particularly in Khartoum, North Kordofan and Darfur states. The second round of the cVDPV2 outbreak response campaign has been paused until further notice.
  • AFP surveillance remains active nationwide and mitigation measures around sample collection and storage are being implemented.
  • No cVDPV2 cases were reported this week. There have been two cases reported in the country this year.
  • No cVDPV2-positive environmental samples were reported.
  • Since 2022, Tanzania has been actively participating in a multi-country outbreak response across south-east Africa, in response to detection of different strains of poliovirus in the sub-region, including by boosting immunity levels and strengthening subnational surveillance capacity.
  • No cVDPV2 cases were reported this week. There were two cases reported in 2022.
  • In May 2022, six positive samples were reported following the isolation of vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (VDPV2) from environmental samples in London, UK.
  • No cases of paralysis associated with this strain have been detected – virus has been isolated only from environmental (sewage) samples.
  • No cVDPV2 cases were reported this week. One case was reported in New York in September 2022.
  • No cVDPV2 positive environmental samples were reported this week. There were 30 positive samples reported in 2022.
  • No cVDPV2 cases were reported this week. There have been three cases reported this year and 162 cases last year.
  • No cVDPV2 cases were reported this week. There is one case reported this year.
  • No cVDPV2-positive environmental samples were reported this week.
  • There are no polio cases reported in the country.

For more country information, please visit the respective pages within the Outbreak and Endemic country sections of the GPEI website.