Polio This Week - June 25th

On 18 June, Brazil reported that wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) had been detected in a sewage sample collected in March 2014 at Viracopos International Airport in Sao Paolo state. Genetic sequencing indicates that this virus is most closely related to the virus that is circulating in Equatorial Guinea. No one in Brazil has been paralyzed by the virus nor is there evidence of transmission within the population of that country. This importation is a reminder of the importance of responding to the central Africa outbreak efficiently, of the critical need to vaccinate residents of Equatorial Guinea before international travel, and of the need for all countries to maintain high immunity against polio.

In the Bara sub-division of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Pakistan, a successful door-to-door polio vaccination campaign took place for the first time in five years reaching more than 42,000 children. The campaign – led by the FATA Secretariat and conducted by volunteers – was made possible by new financial support from the United Arab Emirates.

On 20 June, the Polio Oversight Board (POB) – made up of the heads of GPEI partners WHO, UNICEF, Rotary International and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and senior leadership from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – met for the third time this year to examine progress against the Strategic Plan and review updates on GPEI management, financials and communications. Among other decisions, the POB endorsed additional activities to protect at-risk polio-free areas.

  

Wild Poliovirus (WPV) cases