POLIO [to 27 February 2016]
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)
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Polio this week as of 24 February 2016
:: GPEI have published six new videos on ‘Securing a Polio Free World’ covering topics including the polio vaccines, circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses and the upcoming ‘Switch’. The videos are available in both English and French.
:: There are eight weeks to go until the globally synchronized switch from the trivalent to bivalent oral polio vaccine, an important milestone in achieving a polio-free world. Read more about the reasons behind the switch here. Read more ongoing preparation for the switch here.

Selected Country Levels Updates [excerpted]
Pakistan
:: One new case of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) was reported in the last week, in Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with onset of paralysis on 22 January. The total number of WPV1 cases for 2016 is now 2, compared to 9 reported for 2015 at this point last year.
:: One new WPV1 environmental positive was reported in the past week in Karachi Gadap, Sindh province, with collection on 27 January.
:: National Immunization Days (NIDs) are planned in March using tOPV.
West Africa
:: Three new circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) cases were reported from Guinea in the past week, all in Kankan province. The first two cases were reported from Siguiri district and the third from Kankan district, with onset of paralysis on 10 October, 1 December and 14 December respectively. The total number of cVDPV2 cases for 2015 is now 7. The 2015 cases are genetically linked to the case with onset in August 2014.
:: National Immunization Days (NIDs) are planned in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Mali, Niger and Sierra Leone from 26 to 29 February and in Guinea from 3 to 6 March. These will be repeated from 25 to 28 March. The March round of NIDs will also include Mauritania. All campaigns are using trivalent oral polio vaccine (tOPV).

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Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus – Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Disease Outbreak News (DONs)
25 February 2016
Between 6 and 16 February 2016, the National IHR Focal Point (NFP) of Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) notified WHO of 3 additional cases of vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 (VDPV1).
Details of the new cases
:: The first case is a 15-month-old female from Phonhoung district, Vientiane Province. The patient developed paralysis on 8 January.
:: The second case is a 44-year-old female from Feuang district, Vientiane Province. The patient developed paralysis on 11 January.
Neither of the two cases received oral polio vaccine (OPV). On 3 February 2016, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan reported that stool samples for both cases tested positive for type 1 circulating vaccine-derived polio virus (cVDPV1). There is no epidemiological link between the two cases.
:: The third case is an 18-year-old male from Meun district, Vientiane Province. The case developed paralysis on 3 January 2016. Test results for his stool specimen are pending; however, the specimen was considered to be as ‘inadequate’ since it was collected more than 14 days after the onset of paralysis. A stool sample collected from a close contact tested positive for VDPV1, the case is classified as cVDPV1 based on the epidemiological link and the contact’s positive stool sample.
Of note is that these new cVDPV1 isolates are genetically linked but have considerable genetic differences with the previous Laos cVDPV1 isolates from the current outbreak. The new findings suggest that more than one strain of cVDPV1 may have emerged separately and co-circulated in Laos without being detected.
To date, the total number of confirmed cVDPV1 cases in this outbreak is 10. Furthermore, since the beginning of the outbreak, circulating cVDPV1 has been isolated from the stools of 23 healthy contacts in the provinces of Bolikhamxay, Xaisomboun and Vientiane…

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Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) [to 27 February 2016]
http://www.oic-oci.org/oicv2/news/
23/02/2016
OIC Calls Upon Afghani Ulama to Play their Role in the Efforts to Eradicate Polio from Afghanistan
An International Ulama Conference on Eradication of Polio was opened in Kabul, Afghanistan on 22 February 2016. The Conference has attracted over 100 Ulama (Islamic Scholars) from all parts of Afghanistan and beyond. The Conference was organized by Islamic Advisory Group on Polio Eradication (IAG) in conjunction with the Government of Afghanistan.

IAG was launched at the OIC Headquarters in February 2014 after consultations among Al Azhar University, OIC General Secretariat, Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA). It comprises of Islamic Institutions, religious scholars, technical experts and academia from the Muslim World.

Some of the leading Members of the IAG are: Dr. Saleh Bin Abdullah Bin Humaid, President of the Council of IIFA; Dr. Abdulmohsin Al Qasim; Imam of Holy Mosque in Madinah; Dr. Ahmed Al Tayyeb, Grand Imam of Al Azhar Al Sharif; Mr. Iyad Ameen Madani, Secretary General of OIC; and Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Ali President of IDB.

The Conference in Kabul is intended to mobilize religious scholars and groups to support global efforts to end polio in Afghanistan. In his remarks during the opening of the Conference, the representative of the OIC General Secretariat Amb. Muhammad Naeem Khan, Assistant Secretary General underscored the important role of Ulama in sensitizing communities to protect their children from preventable diseases by embracing vaccination campaigns. He re-irritated OIC commitment to supporting Member States in their efforts to provide health care to their peoples.

The Conference was also addressed by H.E. Dr. Ferozuddin Feroz, Minister of Public Health of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and H.E. Dr. Fadhulullah Kakal, Special Advisor to the President of Afghanistan on health, among others. The Conference is expected to end on 23 February 2016 with a declaration and a clear commitment from Ulama to support polio eradication efforts.