African nations certified free of wild polio virus, a first in history - Medical Xpress
African nations certified free of wild polio virus, a first in history - Medical Xpress |
| African nations certified free of wild polio virus, a first in history - Medical Xpress Posted: 23 Jun 2020 06:30 AM PDT  The World Health Organization is set to declare several African nations free of wild polio, making the continent free of the paralyzing pathogen for the first time in the region's history. "Good News! South Sudan's complete documentation for wild polio virus free status has been accepted," the South Sudan branch of the WHO tweeted Thursday. "With this feat, WHO's Africa Region is set to be declared wild polio virus free 2020. Time for celebration and actions to maintain this achievement." Nigeria, too, sent out news of its own "milestone moment & awesome news," having been granted "polio-free status, for the first time in our history," as a spokesperson for Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari tweeted. The Africa Regional Certification Commission for polio eradication accepted the countries' documentation on polio eradication efforts, with an official announcement to come next month at a planned Health Ministers' meeting, Nigeria said. "Amazing moment in history to have had our polio-eradication documentation accepted by the African Regional Certification Committee (ARCC)," tweeted Dr. Faisal Shuaib, executive director and CEO of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, one of the lead organizations in the effort. "The Nigeria team led by NPHCDA and partners demonstrated evidence of our polio-free status." The effort has been decades in the works, Shuaib said. Highly infectious polio affects mostly children under age 5, invading the nervous system and potentially causing "total paralysis in a matter of hours," the WHO said. Between 5% and 10% of those who suffer paralysis die when their breathing muscles become paralyzed. Once declared wild polio-free, countries must prove annually that they have remained so, Vanguard Newspapers of Nigeria said. As of March, the Africa Regional Certification Commission had carried out field visits in all 47 countries of WHO's African Region to "verify the absence of wild poliovirus while ensuring that disease surveillance is undergoing according to certification-standard," WHO Africa said in a statement at the time. The WHO had already accepted the documentation of 43 African countries, leaving Cameroon, Central African Republic, Nigeria and South Sudan remaining. The last wild poliovirus detection anywhere in Africa was in 2016, "in stark contrast to 1996, when wild poliovirus paralyzed more than 75,000 children across every country on the continent," WHO Africa said. To prove wild polio virus eradication, a region must register no new infections for three years running, demonstrated by intense disease surveillance. "In addition, countries must maintain high immunization coverage for the oral polio vaccine, have a robust national polio outbreak preparedness and response plan and a functional National Polio Certification Committee," the statement said. Explore further ©2020 New York Daily News Citation: African nations certified free of wild polio virus, a first in history (2020, June 23) retrieved 24 June 2020 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-06-african-nations-certified-free-wild.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.  |
| Global polio (WPV1) cases now at 67, Nigeria attains Polio-Free status - Outbreak News Today Posted: 18 Jun 2020 04:10 PM PDT By NewsDesk @infectiousdiseasenews The number of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) reported globally so far in 2020 is now 67 as Afghanistan and Pakistan report additional cases this week.  Image/Michael Washington, PhD, Health Scientist, NCEZID In Afghanistan, four additional WPV1 cases were reported: one each Farah and Hirat and two in Hilmand bringing the number of cases reported in 2020 to 16. In neighboring Pakistan, one wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case was reported in Balochistan province. The number of cases reported in 2020 stands at 51. There was exciting news in the third polio endemic country of Nigeria. Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Digital and New Media, Tolu Ogunlesi tweeted: Milestone moment & awesome news for #Nigeria, today June 18, 2020: Attained Polio-Free status, for the first time in our history. Official announcement will come next month, at a planned Health Ministers' meeting! Well done to @NphcdaNG & everyone involved in making this happen! Walk-In Lab Now Sells COVID-19 Serology Antibody tests! Doctor's note provided! Only $119 The World Health Organization in Nigeria also tweeted: Today, Nigeria's complete documentation for #WildPoliovirus free status was accepted by the Africa Regional Certification Commission for polio eradication (ARCC). It is a historic day for Nigeria, Africa and the Global Polio Programme! The WHO had already accepted the documentation of 43 African countries, leaving Cameroon, Central African Republic, Nigeria and South Sudan remaining. The last wild poliovirus detection anywhere in Africa was in 2016 (in Nigeria), "in stark contrast to 1996, when wild poliovirus paralyzed more than 75,000 children across every country on the continent," WHO Africa said. To prove wild polio virus eradication, a region must register no new infections for three years running, demonstrated by intense disease surveillance.  |
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