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News Scan for Sep 13, 2019
Polio in 4 nations
; Salmonella papaya outbreak
; Malaria vaccine in Kenya
Filed Under:
Polio
; Salmonella
; Foodborne Disease
; Malaria
Four countries report 8 new polio cases among them
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) said in its latest update today that four countries reported a total of eight new polio cases in the previous week, including vaccine-derived polio cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Central African Republic.
Afghanistan and Pakistan, the two countries in the world with endemic wild poliovirus transmission, each reported wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases?1 in Afghanistan and 4 in Pakistan. This raises year-to-date totals for the countries to 16 in Afghanistan and 62 in Pakistan. Last year, Pakistan reported only 16 WPV1 cases all year.
In the Central African Republic, officials recorded two cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2), both with paralysis onsets on Jul 30. These are the fifth and sixth cases reported this year.
DRC recorded one case of cVDPV2, with an onset of paralysis on Jul 26. "There are 30 reported cases of cVDPV2 in 2019. There were 20 cVDPV2 cases reported in 2018. DRC is currently affected by nine separate cVDPV2 outbreak," the GPEI said.
So far 2019 has had much higher WPV1 activity than last year, with 78 cases to date, compared with 2018's total of 33 cases.
Sep 13 GPEI update
CDC probe into papaya-linked Salmonella outbreak over after 81 cases
Yesterday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said a multistage outbreak of Salmonella illnesses linked to papayas appears to be over.
"Consumers no longer need to avoid eating Cavi brand whole papayas imported from Mexico," the CDC said. "The papayas that were linked to the illnesses in this outbreak are no longer on the market."
Eighty-one people from nine states were infected during this outbreak. There were also 27 hospitalizations, but no deaths. Illness-onset dates ranged from Jan 14 through Jul 16, with most illnesses reported since April.
Epidemiologic investigations indicated that the Cavi brand of whole papayas imported from Mexico and distributed by Agroson's LLC were the likely cause of this outbreak. Of 34 case-patients interviewed, 74% said they ate papayas in the weeks prior to illness.
New York and New Jersey reported the most cases, with 29 and 22, respectively. Connecticut had 15 cases, Massachusetts 6, Pennsylvania 4, and Florida 2. Delaware, Rhode Island, and Texas each recorded 1 case.
Sep 12 CDC update
Jul 8 CIDRAP News scan on previous update
Kenya becomes third country to launch malaria vaccine
The World Health Organization (WHO) today recognized Kenya for its launch of the world's first malaria vaccine, making it the third country, alongside Ghana and Malawi, to roll out the vaccine as part of a pilot program.
According a statement from the WHO, the RTS,S vaccine will be available to children ages 6 months and older in a phased pilot introduction in selected parts of the country where malaria transmission is high. Kenya launched its vaccine drive in Homa Bay County in the west. The country's goal is to vaccinate about 120,000 children each year in the target areas, which also include seven other counties: Kisumu, Migori, Siaya, Busia, Bungoma, Vihiga, and Kakamega.
The pilot program is a collaboration between the three country health ministries, international partners, and the vaccine's maker, GlaxoSmithKline, which is donating 10 million doses. Three global health groups are supporting the program: Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and Unitaid.
Matshidiso Moeti, MBBS, the WHO's regional for Africa, said in the statement that Africa has recently experienced a surge of malaria cases and deaths, which threatens gains made against malaria over the past two decades. "The ongoing pilots will provide the key information and data to inform a WHO policy on the broader use of the vaccine in sub-Saharan Africa. If introduced widely, the vaccine has the potential to save tens of thousands of lives," she added.
Sep 13 WHO statement
Polio in 4 nations
; Salmonella papaya outbreak
; Malaria vaccine in Kenya
Filed Under:
Polio
; Salmonella
; Foodborne Disease
; Malaria
Four countries report 8 new polio cases among them
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) said in its latest update today that four countries reported a total of eight new polio cases in the previous week, including vaccine-derived polio cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Central African Republic.
Afghanistan and Pakistan, the two countries in the world with endemic wild poliovirus transmission, each reported wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases?1 in Afghanistan and 4 in Pakistan. This raises year-to-date totals for the countries to 16 in Afghanistan and 62 in Pakistan. Last year, Pakistan reported only 16 WPV1 cases all year.
In the Central African Republic, officials recorded two cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2), both with paralysis onsets on Jul 30. These are the fifth and sixth cases reported this year.
DRC recorded one case of cVDPV2, with an onset of paralysis on Jul 26. "There are 30 reported cases of cVDPV2 in 2019. There were 20 cVDPV2 cases reported in 2018. DRC is currently affected by nine separate cVDPV2 outbreak," the GPEI said.
So far 2019 has had much higher WPV1 activity than last year, with 78 cases to date, compared with 2018's total of 33 cases.
Sep 13 GPEI update
CDC probe into papaya-linked Salmonella outbreak over after 81 cases
Yesterday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said a multistage outbreak of Salmonella illnesses linked to papayas appears to be over.
"Consumers no longer need to avoid eating Cavi brand whole papayas imported from Mexico," the CDC said. "The papayas that were linked to the illnesses in this outbreak are no longer on the market."
Eighty-one people from nine states were infected during this outbreak. There were also 27 hospitalizations, but no deaths. Illness-onset dates ranged from Jan 14 through Jul 16, with most illnesses reported since April.
Epidemiologic investigations indicated that the Cavi brand of whole papayas imported from Mexico and distributed by Agroson's LLC were the likely cause of this outbreak. Of 34 case-patients interviewed, 74% said they ate papayas in the weeks prior to illness.
New York and New Jersey reported the most cases, with 29 and 22, respectively. Connecticut had 15 cases, Massachusetts 6, Pennsylvania 4, and Florida 2. Delaware, Rhode Island, and Texas each recorded 1 case.
Sep 12 CDC update
Jul 8 CIDRAP News scan on previous update
Kenya becomes third country to launch malaria vaccine
The World Health Organization (WHO) today recognized Kenya for its launch of the world's first malaria vaccine, making it the third country, alongside Ghana and Malawi, to roll out the vaccine as part of a pilot program.
According a statement from the WHO, the RTS,S vaccine will be available to children ages 6 months and older in a phased pilot introduction in selected parts of the country where malaria transmission is high. Kenya launched its vaccine drive in Homa Bay County in the west. The country's goal is to vaccinate about 120,000 children each year in the target areas, which also include seven other counties: Kisumu, Migori, Siaya, Busia, Bungoma, Vihiga, and Kakamega.
The pilot program is a collaboration between the three country health ministries, international partners, and the vaccine's maker, GlaxoSmithKline, which is donating 10 million doses. Three global health groups are supporting the program: Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and Unitaid.
Matshidiso Moeti, MBBS, the WHO's regional for Africa, said in the statement that Africa has recently experienced a surge of malaria cases and deaths, which threatens gains made against malaria over the past two decades. "The ongoing pilots will provide the key information and data to inform a WHO policy on the broader use of the vaccine in sub-Saharan Africa. If introduced widely, the vaccine has the potential to save tens of thousands of lives," she added.
Sep 13 WHO statement
