POLIO [to 7 May 2016]
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

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Polio this week as of 4 May 2016
:: From the 17 April to the 1 May, 155 countries and territories participated in the historic trivalent to bivalent oral polio vaccine switch, withdrawing the type two component of the vaccine to protect future generations against circulating vaccine derived polioviruses. Track the switch live.

:: A group of independent experts in Ukraine met to assess the country’s response to the polio outbreak and concluded that transmission of the poliovirus has likely stopped in the country. However, they emphasized the need to continue to strengthen immunization and surveillance to protect children in Ukraine against further outbreaks.

The Trivalent to Bivalent Oral Polio Vaccine Switch
:: Between 17 April and 1 May, the type 2 component of the oral polio vaccine (OPV) is being removed from use through a globally synchronized switch from the trivalent to bivalent oral polio vaccine. This is the first stage of objective 2 of the Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan 2013-2018 to withdraw OPV in a phased manner starting with the type 2 component following the eradication of wild poliovirus type 2 in September 2015.

:: Thanks to the efforts of a wide range of stakeholders from Ministries of Health, health workers, volunteers, switch monitors, WHO, UNCEF and partners of the World Health Organization, confirmation has been received that 152 countries have completed the switch.

:: Follow a live update of which countries have undergone the switch here. Learn more about why the switch is such an important part of ensuring a polio-free world through this series of videos.

The following indicators are being carefully tracked to ensure the switch goes smoothly. As of 3 May:
:: 152 of 155 (98%) countries and territories have stopped using the trivalent oral polio vaccine.
:: Independent monitoring to ensure the switch goes smoothly has begun in 126 of 153 countries (82%).
:: The National Validation Committee has received switch monitoring data from 16 of 153 countries.
:: The WHO Regional Office has received the National Validation Report from 10 countries.

Selected Country Levels Updates [excerpted]
Pakistan
:: One new case of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) was reported in the last week in Shikarpur district of Sindh province, with onset of paralysis on 12 April. The total number of WPV1 cases for 2016 is now nine, compared to 22 reported at the same date last year.

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EU supports UNICEF and WHO with €3 million in humanitarian aid for polio vaccinations in Syria
Date: 03/05/2016
Today the European Commission has announced €3 million in humanitarian funding for a UNICEF and World Health Organisation-led nationwide polio vaccination campaign in Syria.
The campaign aims to reach 2 million children in areas where medical access remains critical, such as in besieged, hard-to-reach and under-served areas…

Today’s funding is part of the €445 million in humanitarian aid, announced at the London donors’ conference, that the Commission will provide in 2016 for the crisis in Syria.

The EU is a leading donor in the international response to the Syrian crisis. Over €5 billion in humanitarian, development, economic and stabilisation assistance has been provided so far by the EU and Member States collectively…

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UNOG – Information Service [to 7 May 2016]
6 May 2016
Syria – REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE
In response to a question, Mr. Jasarevic said that there had been a sub-national polio immunization campaign in different parts of Syria. In Aleppo, there had been a campaign from 24 to 28 April.

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WHO: Poliomyelitis (polio) transmission in Ukraine interrupted, but efforts must continue to protect children
06-05-2016
A team of technical experts assessed Ukraine’s response to a polio outbreak and concluded that transmission of poliovirus has been interrupted. Nevertheless, the team remains concerned about significant gaps in immunization and surveillance that put Ukraine at high risk for new outbreaks.

“Thanks to the efforts of the Ministry of Health, health workers and parents, many more children are vaccinated against polio, and I commend them for their commitment,” said Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional Director for Europe. “But these efforts do not stop now. The immunization gap persists and, if Ukraine does not continue vaccinating its children, this gap will expand for polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases to strike.”

High routine immunization coverage
Owing to low coverage, immunization gaps accumulated in Ukraine; it interrupted polio transmission with a campaign of three rounds of catch-up vaccination. High routine immunization coverage is a top priority for WHO, to ensure that another outbreak of polio or any other vaccine-preventable disease does not hit the country.

“We need to seize the momentum gained during the polio outbreak to strengthen Ukraine’s immunization programme, so that parents may exercise their right and responsibility to vaccinate their children,” said Dr Luigi Migliorini, WHO Representative in Ukraine.
With the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), WHO is supporting the Ministry of Health in making vaccines available to close the country’s immunization gap and protect against all vaccine-preventable diseases.

Recommendations of the expert team
“An expert team from different United Nations agencies and partners assessed the polio-outbreak response over two weeks in five Ukrainian regions, at both oblast and rayon levels. Experts analysed the disease surveillance systems, supplementary immunization activities, and communications “, said Dr Patrick O’Connor, leader of the WHO assessment team.

As well as concluding that poliovirus transmission in Ukraine had been interrupted, the team recommended key actions to mitigate the risk of future outbreaks:
:: increase political commitment for childhood immunization;
:: re-establish high, uniform immunization coverage with polio vaccines;
:: improve the communication skills of frontline health workers; and
:: enhance surveillance for early detection of polioviruses…