POLIO [to 19 March 2016]
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

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Polio this week as of 16 March 2016
:: A new short film shown at the Ministerial Conference on Immunization in Africa, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, demonstrates the value of the polio infrastructure in serving broader health goals. Watch the video here.
:: There is one month to go until the globally synchronized switch from the trivalent to bivalent oral polio vaccine. Learn more about the switch through this series of videos.

Selected Country Levels Updates [excerpted]
Pakistan
:: One new case of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) was reported in the last week, in Jacobabad district, Sindh province, with onset of paralysis on 16 February. The total number of WPV1 cases for 2016 is now 6, compared to 19 reported for 2015 at this point last year.
:: One new WPV1 environmental positive sample was reported in the past week, in Quetta district of Balochistan, with collection date of 12 February.
:: National Immunization Days (NIDs) are currently ongoing in the country using tOPV

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WHO: Sudan: monitoring for polio across sub-Saharan sands
WHO and the Ministry of Health actively search for cases of acute flaccid paralysis among the Rashaida tribal community, Gedarif State, Sudan. Gedarif borders with Ethiopia and is considered a high-risk area.

14 March 2016 – For years polio has been a thorn in the side of the Ministry of Health of Sudan and WHO who have worked together to stave off the debilitating disease. Although now officially polio free, Sudan is considered one of the most at-risk countries in WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region. Protracted conflict and insecurity has weakened the national health system and compromised people’s access to basic health services, including routine immunization. Mass internal displacement, nomadic population movement and inaccessible areas have made it challenging for health workers to reach every child under-5 years of age across the country with repeat doses of oral polio vaccine (OPV). And porous borders and refugee influxes from neighbouring countries have compounded logistical challenges and the country’s vulnerability to cross-border infection.

Amidst this complex and volatile sociopolitical environment, the Ministry of Health with the support of WHO and other partners has managed to keep Sudan polio free. However, in order to maintain this status, more than ever, vigilance is required…