Afghanistan Polio 2013

[Ronan Kelly]

Afghanistan

One new WPV1 case was reported in the past week (from Chapa Dara district, Kunar province). The total number of WPV cases for 2013 is now nine (all WPV1), all of which were reported from Eastern Region, close to the Pakistan border. The most recent WPV1 case had onset of paralysis on 27 September, from Kunar province.
No new circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) cases were reported in the past week. The total number of cVDPV2 cases in 2013 remains three. The most recent cVDPV2 case had onset of paralysis on 13 March (from Kandahar, Southern Region).
Two national immunization days (NIDs) were conducted on 6-8 and 27-29 October. Subnational immunization days (SNIDs) are planned for mid and late November.
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- See more at: http://www.polioeradication.org/Dataandmonitoring/Poliothisweek.aspx#sthash.M7OO9EXm.dpuf

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Afghanistan Polio 2013

Source: http://www.unicef.org/media/media_70967.html


One full year of no polio cases in the Southern Region of Afghanistan

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN, 19 November 2013 ? Afghanistan?s Southern Region has today, for the first time ever, reached one full year without any reported cases of wild poliovirus, giving a boost to the country?s fight against the crippling disease. This milestone will encourage the polio effort in the Eastern Region, which continues to fight an outbreak of polio that has seen nine cases reported so far this year.

Kandahar and Helmand have long been identified as the epicentres of polio in Afghanistan and the Southern Region as one of the most persistent reservoirs of poliovirus globally. This unprecedented progress is a sign of the effectiveness of the polio eradication strategies and their implementation in the Southern Region. It is also a testament to the commitment the of Government of Afghanistan, community representatives, partners and donor countries, and to the effective implementation of the National Emergency Action Plan?s innovative approaches to gain access to areas where children previously were not being reached with the oral polio vaccine...

...There were 37 polio cases in Afghanistan in 2012. To date, there have been 9 cases in the country in 2013 as a result of repeated cross-border wild polio virus importation and subsequent child-to-child transmission in Afghanistan.