Polio Plus Update

A Polio-Free Pakistan - One new Polio cases was reported in Pakistan this past week - in the Peshawar District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.  Efforts are ongoing to strengthen vaccination delivery during the "low season" as part of the emergency operations plan.  Activities are focusing on known infected areas, but also areas deemed at high-risk but which have not reported polio cases.

 

Africa - It has been over 7 months since the last Polio case was reported in Somalia,  over 8 months for Nigeria, and over 9 months for Cameroon.  If Nigeria can go 12 months with quality surveillance detecting no Wild Polio Virus, they will join the countries which have stopped Polio transmission.  If after an additional two years, no Wild Polio Virus has been detected, Nigeria could be certified as Polio - Free!   

 

2015 will mark the largest vaccine introduction in history as 120 countries add the Inactivated (injected) Polio Vaccine (IPV) to their routine immunization activities.   Nigeria was the first of the Polio Endemic countries to include IPV with their routine immunizations.  Bangladesh launched IPV on March 21, 2015.  Canada recently agreed to contribute $20 Mil for the introduction of IPV in non-GAVI countries.