WHO reported that “risk of further international spread of the ongoing polio outbreak in Central Asia and the North Caucasus Federal Region in Russia continues to be high.” In Central Asia, genetic sequencing of the poliovirus isolated from a child paralyzed in Kazakhstan on 12 August 2010 has confirmed ongoing circulation of the virus which caused the Tajikistan outbreak and subsequently spread to the Russian Federation, Turkmenistan and possibly Uzbekistan. In the Russian Federation, the detection of an additional case of polio with onset on 25 September in the Republic of Dagestan confirms ongoing poliovirus transmission in the North Caucasus Federal Region.
WHO said that countries at risk of poliovirus importation from Central Asia or the North Caucasus Federal Region of the Russian Federation “should continue to strengthen surveillance for AFP cases, ensure processing of all specimens at a WHO-accredited poliovirus laboratory, maintain high routine immunization coverage against polio, and conduct supplementary OPV immunization activities as needed to close gaps in population immunity.” As per recommendations in the WHO’s International Travel and Health guidelines, travelers to and from polio-affected countries should be fully protected by vaccination. Travelers who have in the past received three or more doses of OPV should be offered another dose of polio vaccine before departure. Any unimmunized individuals intending to travel to a polio-infected area should have a complete course of polio vaccination. Travelers from polio-affected areas should have a full course of vaccination against polio before leaving, with a minimum one dose of OPV before departure.
vaccines and global health :: ethics and policy 