POLIO [to 28 February 2015]
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

GPEI Update: Polio this week – As of 25 February 2014
Global Polio Eradication Initiative
[Editor’s Excerpt and text bolding]
Full report: http://www.polioeradication.org/Dataandmonitoring/Poliothisweek.aspx
:: The fourth meeting of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee concerning the international spread of wild poliovirus was convened last week. Outcomes and the Committee’s final report will be made available on www.polioeradication.org

Selected country report content:
Afghanistan
:: One new case of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) has been reported in the past week in Reg district, Hilmand province. This was the first case reported in 2015, with onset of paralysis on 21 January. The total number of WPV1 cases for 2014 remains 28. Most of the cases from 2014 were linked to cross-border transmission with neighbouring Pakistan.
Pakistan
:: Two new wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases were reported in the past week. One case was reported in Khyber district in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, and the other in Peshawar, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The total number of WPV1 cases in 2014 remains 306, and 9 for 2015. The most recent onset of paralysis was on 31 January in Peshawar.
:: A panel of experts was convened on 14 – 15 February for a consultation to review the current epidemiological situation and the status of implementation of the existing ‘low transmission season’ polio eradication plan. With 8 weeks remaining until the end of the low season, the panel urged that Emergency Operations Centres continue strengthening the roll-out of the plan and that, at the provincial level, teams more completely and accurately track its’ implementation.
West Africa
:: Even as polio programme staff across West Africa help to control the Ebola outbreak affecting the region, efforts are being made in those countries not affected by Ebola to vaccinate children against polio to create a buffer zone surrounding the affected countries. The Ebola crisis in western Africa continues to have an impact on the implementation of polio eradication activities in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. Twenty two experts from the National Polio Surveillance Programme (NPSP) in India have been deployed for 3 months to strengthen surveillance systems and data collection for the Ebola response, demonstrating the polio legacy in action.