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Rotary International is committed to continue the eradication of polio campaign until the WHO declares polio is eradicated. By this it means the interruption of the transmission of polio viruses for at least three years, in the presence of certified surveillance and when all polio virus stocks have been contained.

Global position:

  WPV1 cVDPV
2018 to 14 August 2018
14 25
2017 to 15 August 2017 9 40
2017 full year
22 96
2016 full year
37 5
2015 full year 74 32
2014 full year 359 56

 The emphasis now is on:

  • Monitoring the date of the most recent onset of paralysis and the number of weeks elapsed.
  • The most recent positive environmental samples and the immunisation response.

Wild Polio virus: 14 cases in 2018

For polio-free certification purposes the start date for WPV monitoring is that of the onset of paralysis. For positive environmental samples the viral presence lasts for 7-14 days.

WPV1 - 14 cases

No WPV1 cases this week but four WPV1 positive environmental samples in Pakistan.

The most recent WPV1 cases in each country were:

  • In Afghanistan – 17 July 2018 – 4 weeks since the onset of polio.
    • 11 cases in 2018 vs. 6 cases at the same time in 2017. Total of 14 cases in 2017.
  • In Pakistan – 18 May 2018 – 12 weeks since the onset of polio.
    • 3 cases in 2018 vs. 2 cases at the same time in 2017. Total 8 cases in 2017.
  • In Nigeria – 21 August 2016 – 103 weeks since the onset of polio.
    • No cases in 2018. No cases in 2017. Four cases in 2016.

WPV2

  • Declared eradicated September 2015. (Last case was in October 1999.)

WPV3

  • No cases reported since 10 November 2012. (That was in Nigeria.)

Circulating Vaccine Derived Polio Virus - 25 cases in 2018

The virus is genetically changed from the weakened virus contained in OPV. Details of the most recent cases in each country are:

cVDPV1 - 4 cases

  • One case reported in PNG this week bringing the total there to 4.

  • Onset of paralysis of the case was 8 July. Previously 3 cases reported in Laos in 2016.

 cVDPV2 - 18 cases

  • In Nigeria: 4 cases in 2018. One case last week.
    • Onset of paralysis on 15 July 2018 – 5 weeks ago
  • In the DRC: 11 cases in 2018 vs. 22 cases in 2017.
    • Most recent case – 24 June 2018 – 7 weeks since the onset of polio.
    • Immunisation in neighbouring countries is being strengthened.
  • In Somalia: 3 cases in 2018. No cases in 2017.
    • Most recent onset of paralysis 26 May 2018 - 11 weeks ago.
  • In Syria: 0 cases in 2018
    • 74 cases in 2017. Arose after discovery of pockets of infection after the defeat of ISIS. There have been no cases since the outbreak last year.
    • Most recent case 21 September 2017 – or 45 weeks since the onset of polio.

cVDPV3 - 3 cases

  • In Somalia: 3 cases in 2018
    • Onset of paralysis for the most recent case was 23 May – 11 weeks ago.
    • The first cases since July 2013 when there was one in the Yemen.

Confirmation of cVDPV environmental samples in Kenya (type 2) have not isolated the virus from any AFP cases or their contacts.

 

Other comments (from the internet and other sources):

Rotary announces US $96.5 million to end polio - extract:

August 15, 2018 — Rotary today announced nearly $100 million in grants to support the global effort to end polio, a vaccine-preventable disease that once paralyzed hundreds of thousands of children each year. The announcement comes as Nigeria marks two years without any reported cases of wild poliovirus, following four reported cases in 2016.

“The fact that no new cases of wild poliovirus have been detected in Nigeria points to the improved surveillance and rapid response protocols Rotary and its GPEI partners have established, particularly in insecure and inaccessible areas,” said Michael K. McGovern, chair of Rotary’s International PolioPlus Committee. “While this progress is promising, it’s time to redouble our efforts so we can continue to maintain the political and financial support necessary to end polio for good.”

While significant strides have been made against the paralyzing disease, wild poliovirus is still a threat in parts of the world. As long as a single child has polio, all children are at risk, which underscores the need for ongoing funding and political commitment to eradication. To support polio eradication efforts in countries where polio remains endemic, Rotary is allocating the majority of the funds it announced today to Afghanistan ($22.9 million), Pakistan ($21.7 million), and Nigeria ($16.1 million). 

Further funding will support efforts to keep 12 vulnerable African countries polio-free:

  • Cameroon ($98,600), Central African Republic ($394,400), Chad ($1.71 million)
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo ($10.4 million) Guinea ($527,300),
  • Madagascar ($690,000) Mali ($923,200), Niger ($85,300), Sierra Leone ($245,300)
  • Somalia ($776,200), South Sudan ($3.5 million) and Sudan ($2.6 million)

Africa will also see $5.8 million in funding for surveillance activities and $467,800 for technical assistance. Additional funding will go to Bangladesh ($504,200), Indonesia ($157,800), Myanmar ($197,200), and Nepal ($160,500), with an additional $96,300 funding surveillance in Southeast Asia. The remainder of the funding ($6.6 million) will go to the World Health Organization (WHO) for research activities.

To date, Rotary has contributed more than $1.8 billion to fight the disease, including matching funds from the Gates Foundation, and countless volunteer hours since launching its polio immunization program, PolioPlus, in 1985. In 1988, Rotary became a core partner in the GPEI with the WHO, UNICEF, and CDC. The Gates Foundation later joined.


Reg Ling

Rotary Club of Chandler's Ford and Itchen Valley.

Rotary District 1110 (Central Southern England, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar).

Rotary Region 19 (Southern England and Gibraltar) End Polio Now Coordinator.

19 August 2018

 

Polio is a highly infectious, crippling and potentially fatal viral disease which mainly affects young children. There is no cure, but there are effective vaccines. The strategy to eradicate polio is based on preventing infection by immunising every child until transmission stops and the world is polio-free. The source of polio virus transmission is infectious humans spread mainly through the faecal-oral route or, less frequently, by a common vehicle (e.g. contaminated water or food) and multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system and can cause paralysis. But, less than 1 in 200 infections leads to this. Of those paralysed, 5% to 10% die when their breathing muscles become immobilised.