Despite the “reported progress”, “the risk of international spread of poliovirus still remains a public health emergency of international concern”. This was decided by the Emergency Committee of theWorld Health Organizationduring the 35th meeting dedicated to polio, recommending the extension of the temporary recommendations for another three months.
At its 35th meeting dedicated to polio, the Committee reviewed data with the global goal of eradicating wild poliovirus and cessation of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus outbreaks by the end of 2023, the statement underlined. In Pakistan, the latest new case of wild poliovirus was reported on February 20, 2023, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the first case since September 15, 2022. No cases were reported in Afghanistan in 2023 and the latest case was as of 29 August 2022. No new cases have been reported in southern Africa, where the most recent case was on 10 August 2022 in Mozambique but “ongoing transmission cannot be ruled out”.
Globally, only three genetic strains remain, a dramatic reduction from the genetic diversity of the virus, indicating how chains of transmission have been narrowed.
However, several concerns remain, including the fact that “many countries have weak vaccination systems and have been further weakened by the Covid-19 pandemic”, leaving “populations in these fragile areas vulnerable to polio epidemics”.
The large pool of unvaccinated, or zero-dose children in southern Afghanistan poses an ongoing risk of reintroduction of poliovirus into the southern region. The risk of international spread of circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses also “appears to remain high”: ongoing outbreaks in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo have caused international spread to neighboring countries.
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