Pathfinder
Editor, Senior Moderator
WEEKLY BULLETIN ON OUTBREAKS
AND OTHER EMERGENCIES
Week 24: 6 - 12 June 2022
Data as reported by: 17:00; 12 June 2022
...
Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 Eritrea
1 case
0 Deaths
0% CFR
EVENT DESCRIPTION
Following laboratory confirmation, the Ministry of Health of
Eritrea notified WHO on 3 June 2022 of a case of circulating
vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) detected in Barentu,
Gash- Barka region. The virus was isolated from an acute flaccid
paralysis (AFP) case who had onset of paralysis on 3 September
2021, with no known travel history outside the country. Two stool
specimens collected on 8 and 9 September 2021 were shipped
and received at the Ethiopian National Polio Laboratory on 24
April 2022. Test results returned on 2 June 2022, confirming the
presence of cVDPV2.
The virus is linked to cVDPV2 detected in July 2020 in Sudan
and belongs to the Chad-N’Djamena-1(CHA-NDJ-1) emergence,
originating in Nigeria (via Chad). This is the first report of a case
of cVDPV2 in Eritrea. The national public health authorities with
support from partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative
(GPEI), including the African Rapid Response Team (ARRT), have
launched a full investigation to identify the extent of circulation
and risk associated with the event, and plan appropriate public
health response.
The routine national vaccination coverage against poliovirus
has been high in the country. According to 2020 WHO-UNICEF
coverage estimates, Eritrea had a national immunization coverage
of 95% for the third dose of oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV3) and
a 97% coverage for the first dose of inactivated polio-containing
vaccine (IPV1). National surveillance indicators for polio are
also on course, with the annualized national non-polio AFP
surveillance rate as of May ending 2022 above the 1 per 100,000
population threshold.
PUBLIC HEALTH ACTIONS
The Government of Eritrea has declared the cVDPV2
outbreak as a national public health emergency, in line with
temporary recommendations issued by the International
Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee on polio.
The Ministry of Health is coordinating the response to the
event with technical and operational support from the GPEI
and partners.
Investigations are ongoing, including the identification of the
extent of circulation of the virus and the implementation of
targeted response activities.
Surveillance activities are being reinforced, including an active
search of further AFP cases in and around the immediate area
of the detected case.
SITUATION INTERPRETATION
Eritrea joins the list of countries in the African region reporting
cases of cVDPV2, indicating the potential for the emergence and
spread of the virus. Although national immunization coverage is
high, this is not uniform across all subnational areas, and this
disparity may have been magnified by the ongoing COVID-19
pandemic. A thorough investigation of this outbreak will shed light
on the inadequacies and gaps and inform public health response
actions. WHO continues to advise countries, territories, and
areas to maintain uniformly high routine immunization coverage
at the district level to minimize the consequences of any new virus
introduction.
https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/356619/OEW24-0612062022.pdf
https://www.afro.who.int/countries/...-emergencies-bulletin-week-11-7-13-march-2022
AND OTHER EMERGENCIES
Week 24: 6 - 12 June 2022
Data as reported by: 17:00; 12 June 2022
...
Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 Eritrea
1 case
0 Deaths
0% CFR
EVENT DESCRIPTION
Following laboratory confirmation, the Ministry of Health of
Eritrea notified WHO on 3 June 2022 of a case of circulating
vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) detected in Barentu,
Gash- Barka region. The virus was isolated from an acute flaccid
paralysis (AFP) case who had onset of paralysis on 3 September
2021, with no known travel history outside the country. Two stool
specimens collected on 8 and 9 September 2021 were shipped
and received at the Ethiopian National Polio Laboratory on 24
April 2022. Test results returned on 2 June 2022, confirming the
presence of cVDPV2.
The virus is linked to cVDPV2 detected in July 2020 in Sudan
and belongs to the Chad-N’Djamena-1(CHA-NDJ-1) emergence,
originating in Nigeria (via Chad). This is the first report of a case
of cVDPV2 in Eritrea. The national public health authorities with
support from partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative
(GPEI), including the African Rapid Response Team (ARRT), have
launched a full investigation to identify the extent of circulation
and risk associated with the event, and plan appropriate public
health response.
The routine national vaccination coverage against poliovirus
has been high in the country. According to 2020 WHO-UNICEF
coverage estimates, Eritrea had a national immunization coverage
of 95% for the third dose of oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV3) and
a 97% coverage for the first dose of inactivated polio-containing
vaccine (IPV1). National surveillance indicators for polio are
also on course, with the annualized national non-polio AFP
surveillance rate as of May ending 2022 above the 1 per 100,000
population threshold.
PUBLIC HEALTH ACTIONS
The Government of Eritrea has declared the cVDPV2
outbreak as a national public health emergency, in line with
temporary recommendations issued by the International
Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee on polio.
The Ministry of Health is coordinating the response to the
event with technical and operational support from the GPEI
and partners.
Investigations are ongoing, including the identification of the
extent of circulation of the virus and the implementation of
targeted response activities.
Surveillance activities are being reinforced, including an active
search of further AFP cases in and around the immediate area
of the detected case.
SITUATION INTERPRETATION
Eritrea joins the list of countries in the African region reporting
cases of cVDPV2, indicating the potential for the emergence and
spread of the virus. Although national immunization coverage is
high, this is not uniform across all subnational areas, and this
disparity may have been magnified by the ongoing COVID-19
pandemic. A thorough investigation of this outbreak will shed light
on the inadequacies and gaps and inform public health response
actions. WHO continues to advise countries, territories, and
areas to maintain uniformly high routine immunization coverage
at the district level to minimize the consequences of any new virus
introduction.
https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/356619/OEW24-0612062022.pdf
https://www.afro.who.int/countries/...-emergencies-bulletin-week-11-7-13-march-2022