Vaccine-Derived Polio Cases Confirmed in Africa

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) reported on July 28, 2021, the African countries of Nigeria and Senegal confirmed additional polio cases involving circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2). Pakistan is one of two countries where wild poliovirus remains endemic.

• Nigeria: 18 cases of cVDPV2 were reported; 12 in Jigawa, two each in Yobe and Borno, and one each in Adamawa and Bauchi. The number of cases during 2021 now stands at 49. There were eight cases reported in 2020.
• Senegal: One case of cVDPV2 was reported increasing the number of 2021 cases to 13.

Previously, the GPEI reported great news about the country of Afganistan.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced on July 24, 2021, an additional US$9.5 million support to the Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI).

The new funding will be used to vaccinate approximately 16 million children during door-to-door immunization campaigns in 84 highest-risk districts, as well as an additional US$376,000 to provide personal protective equipment against COVID-19 for the frontline campaign workers.

The funding will be utilized in Afganistan from July to December 2021 and comes to more than US$23 million made available by the UAE in 2021.

The UAE, a long-time supporter of Pakistan’s polio program and its main funder, has provided over US$200 million in financial support since 2014.

Speaking on behalf of the GPEI, Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the World Health Organization Representative in Pakistan, commented, “The UAE has firmly stood by the polio program with vital yearly contributions and in pleas for extra funding to address unforeseen challenges such as COVID-19."

Only one case of wild poliovirus has been reported in Pakistan in the first six months of 2021, a significant decrease from the 59 cases reported during the same period in 2020.

In the USA, the U.S. CDC recommends children get polio vaccinated to protect against poliomyelitis. Since 2000, the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) is most often given in the USA. The IPV is administered by a shot in the arm or leg, depending on the person’s age, says the CDC.