POLIO [to 16 January 2016]
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

Polio this week as of 13 January 2016
:: This week India marks five years without reporting a single case of wild polio, a remarkable achievement. Today, lessons learned in India and Nigeria are being used to drive progress in the last two polio-endemic countries: Pakistan and Afghanistan. Read more here.
:: There are three months to go until the globally synchronized switch from the trivalent to bivalent oral polio vaccine. This will be an important milestone in achieving a polio-free world. Read more here.

Selected content from country-level reports
Afghanistan
:: Subnational Immunization Days (SNIDs) were carried out in the south on 10 to 12 January using bOPV. Further SNIDs are planned from 14 to 16 February, also using bOPV and National Immunization Days (NIDs) are planned from 13 to 15 March using tOPV, prior to the switch. Read more about the switch here.
Pakistan
:: One new wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case was reported in the past week, with onset of paralysis on 2 December 2015 in Punjab province. The total number of WPV1 cases for 2015 is now 52, compared to 296 reported for 2014 by this time last year. A total of 306 cases occurred in Pakistan in 2014.
:: One new WPV1 environmental positive was detected in Peshawar district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The sample was collected on 11 December 2015.
Lao People’s Democratic Republic
:: One new case of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 (cVDPV1) was reported in the past week, in Longxan district of Xaysomboune province with onset of paralysis on 18 December 2015. The total number of cVDPV1 cases in 2015 is now six.
:: An emergency outbreak response is continuing in the country, with particular focus on three high-risk provinces.
Myanmar
:: Significant immunization gaps remain in Myanmar, with an estimated 24% of children un- or under-immunized. Vaccination coverage remains particularly low among special at-risk populations. AFP surveillance quality indicators are acceptable at the national level, but subnational gaps persist.
:: While WHO assesses the risk of international spread from Myanmar to be low, surveillance and immunization activities are being strengthened in neighbouring countries.

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New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Accessed 16 January 2016
Suicide Bomb Near Polio Center in Pakistan Kills at Least 16
By IHSANULLAH TIPU MEHSUDJAN. 13, 2016
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — At least 16 people were killed on Wednesday in a suicide bombing outside a polio vaccination center in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, officials and witnesses said.

Thirteen of the victims were police officers, said Syed Imtiaz Shah, a senior official with the Quetta police. He said the officers were there to guard polio workers, who are often targeted by Islamist militants in Pakistan.

The attack came on the third day of a vaccination campaign in the province of Baluchistan, of which Quetta is the capital. The bomber, who was also killed, walked up to police officers and detonated what Mr. Shah said amounted to more than 20 pounds of explosives.

A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, Muhammad Khurrasani, claimed responsibility for the attack on the militants’ behalf. Two civilians and a paramilitary police officer were also killed, and 10 police officers and nine civilians were wounded…