POLIO [to 21 March 2015]
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

GPEI Update: Polio this week – As of 18 March 2015
Global Polio Eradication Initiative
[Editor’s Excerpt and text bolding]
Full report: http://www.polioeradication.org/Dataandmonitoring/Poliothisweek.aspx
:: As per risk assessment criteria set by the International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee on the international spread of wild poliovirus, Syria and Ethiopia have now been re-classified as countries ‘no longer infected by wild poliovirus, but which remain vulnerable to international spread’, following no detection of wild poliovirus in more than 12 months. More
:: In Pakistan, efforts are continuing to tighten up strategies and ensure implementation of the ‘low season’ emergency operations plan. Strong coordination of activities by Emergency Operations Centres (EOCs) at federal and provincial level is helping to evaluate implementation and enable corrective measures as necessary. See ‘Pakistan’ section below for more.

[Selected country-level report content]
Afghanistan
:: Two WPV1 positive environmental samples were confirmed this week, from Hilmand and Kandahar (dates of collection: 25 and 26 January), confirming ongoing circulation of the virus in the country.
Pakistan
:: Three new wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases were reported in the past week, one from Khyber in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and two from Sindh, bringing the total number of WPV1 cases to 19 in 2015. The most recent case had onset of paralysis on 24 February (from Khyber, FATA). The total number of WPV1 cases in 2014 remains 306.
:: Efforts are ongoing to strengthen implementation of the ‘low season’ emergency operations plan.
:: Strong, functional Emergency Operations Centres (EOCs) are now operational both at the
:: Strategies are focusing on clearly identifying reasons for missed children, and putting in place area-specific mechanisms to overcome area-specific challenges.
:: Independent monitoring is strengthened and rolled out across wider geographic areas to provide a clearer assessment of quality and associated gaps.
:: Activities are focusing on known infected areas, but also areas deemed at high-risk but which have not reported polio cases. Environmental surveillance indicates widespread transmission of the virus, not just in known infected areas but also in areas without cases. Environmental surveillance is proving to be an instrumental supplemental surveillance tool enabling a clearer epidemiological picture.
Millions of Afghan children reached in national polio immunization drive
WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region EMRO
18 March 2015
Kabul 18 March 2015 – The first round of national immunization days (NIDs) in Afghanistan in 2015 was launched on 15 March by H. E. Dr Ferozuddin Feroz, Minister of Public Health of Afghanistan. The three-day NIDs campaign targeted over nine million children under five years of age in all of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. Over 60 000 district coordinators, cluster supervisors, campaign monitors and volunteers were involved in administering polio vaccines and vitamin A capsules to children…
Gunmen Kill Health Workers From Pakistan Polio Drive
By THE NEW YORK TIMES MARCH 17, 2015
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Gunmen killed two female health workers and one police guard in northwestern Pakistan in the latest attack on people involved in a polio immunization campaign.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Pakistani Taliban have repeatedly targeted health workers on anti-polio drives, accusing them of being spies. The violence has seriously hindered the immunization campaign in Pakistan, one of three countries where polio remains endemic. Successive governments have vowed to ensure health workers’ safety, but such efforts have been unsuccessful.
The attack Tuesday occurred in a remote, mountainous area of Mansehra district in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province.
“The two-member team was administering polio drops in an Afghan refugee camp and its surrounding areas when two gunmen opened fire on them,” the local police chief, Muhammad Ejaz Khan, was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse.
The gunmen escaped…