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Don’t forget polio – the polio viruses have not forgotten us.

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 2 October 2018
19 56
2017 to 3 October 2017 11 56
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: 19 cases in 2018

For polio-free certification purposes the start date for WPV monitoring is that of the onset of paralysis. There were 12 WPV1 positive environmental sample this week, 7 in Pakistan and 5 in Afghanistan. For positive environmental samples the viral presence lasts for 7-14 days.

WPV1 - 19 cases.

There was a case in Afghanistan this week.

The most recent WPV1 cases in each country were:

  • In Afghanistan – 27 August 2018 – 6 weeks since the onset of polio.
    • 14 cases in 2018 vs. 6 cases at the same time in 2017. Total of 14 cases in 2017.
  • In Pakistan – 1 August 2018 – 8 weeks since the onset of polio.
    • 4 cases in 2018 vs. 5 cases at the same time in 2017. Total 8 cases in 2017.
  • In Nigeria – 21 August 2016 – 110 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 - 56 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 - 14 cases

  • 14 cases in PNG. No new cases this week.

  • Onset of paralysis of the most recent case - 13 August - 7 weeks ago.

 cVDPV2 - 36 cases

  • In Nigeria: 14 cases in 2018, three cases this week.
    • Onset of paralysis early September 2018 – 4 weeks ago
  • In the DRC: 15 cases in 2018 vs. 22 cases in 2017.
    • Most recent case – 5 August 2018 – 8 weeks since the onset of polio.
    • Immunisation in neighbouring countries is being strengthened.
  • In Somalia: 5 cases in 2018. No cases in 2017.
    • Most recent onset of paralysis 30 July 2018 - 9 weeks ago.
  • In Niger: 2 cases reported last week.
    • Most recent onset of paralysis 8 August 2018 - 8 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 53 weeks since the onset of polio.

cVDPV3 - 6 cases

  • In Somalia: 6 cases. No new cases this week.
    • Onset of paralysis for the most recent case was 30 July – 9 weeks ago.
    • The first cases since July 2013 when there was one in the Yemen.

Confirmation of cVDPV2 environmental samples in Kenya have not isolated the virus from any AFP cases or their contacts.

 

Other comments (from the internet and other sources):

PESHAWAR: As the government gears up for a nationwide anti-measles vaccination campaign, an advisory group has emphasised the need for providing essential immunisation services and for improving the sanitary conditions.The Peshawar Emergency Action Plan has identified the issues which are creating hurdles in purging the environment of the poliovirus and reaching the goal of a polio-free region. The TAG chief emphasized the need for providing better immunisation and sanitation services, especially in the drains of Peshawar to improve immunity and hygiene status of the public. The chief secretary stated that regular meetings would help keep the programme on track apart from achieving the goal of stopping the circulation of the wild poliovirus in the environment by the year’s end.

BILL GATES: In 2011, my wife Melinda and I began working with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed (UAE) on a big global health project: We wanted to eradicate polio and ensure that all children were immunised against it and other diseases. Seven years later, polio is on the verge of eradication. The world has only witnessed 18 new cases of wild polio in 2018, and that’s in no small part thanks to the generosity of the UAE and its support to get vaccines to children in hard-to-reach parts of Pakistan. The UAE has also been an effective ally in the fight against other deadly and debilitating diseases that affect the world’s poorest people, such as malaria, river blindness, and lymphatic filariasis. In December 2018, the UAE will host another major global health meeting in Abu Dhabi in partnership with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance – where health leaders from around the world will gather to take stock of immunisation progress and consider how vaccines can best be used to save lives and strengthen communities. The world has changed a lot over the last half century, but arguably the biggest – and best – change is that there are now far, far fewer people living in extreme poverty than there were 50 years ago. In 1966, half the world’s population was living on less than $1.90/day (adjusted for inflation). As of 2017, it was 9 per cent. This reduction of global poverty is something that's always made me optimistic about the world − but now there's something that worries me too. New data show that the fight against suffering may be on verge of stalling in sub-Saharan Africa. Each year, our foundation releases a report on the state of global poverty, and for the first time, we’ve found that the number of people living in extreme poverty might stop declining and may even start growing again. That’s because the poorest corners of the world, most of which happen to be in Africa, are experiencing much faster population growth than everywhere else…

The article continues to examine problems in Africa and suggests the scope for improvement based on remarkable turnarounds in India and China in recent years: See:

https://www.thenational.ae/uae/health/bill-gates-the-uae-is-a-powerful-ally-in-the-fight-to-eradicate-diseases-that-afflict-the-world-s-poorest-people-1.775787


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.

8 October 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.