Madagascar Reports 8 cVDPV1 Cases

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative website has revealed that this year there has been a sharp rise in the number of cVDPV associated cases, which have been traced back to another case which was registered in September 2014. This indicates that there is long-standing and widespread circulation of the cVDPV in the country. This is a somewhat discomfiting conclusion and points to the need to establish the introduction of Inactivated Polio Vaccine in countries that have been able to eradicate the disease. Considering that India has also been polio free and has achieved eradication status, this spate of cases could be a wake up call to the nation to initiate the process of introducing and incorporating Inactivated Polio Vaccine within the ambit of the universal immunization program.

Meanwhile, coming to the endemic countries, in an encouraging trend, Nigeria has been free from reported polio cases for a while now; however, cases continue to be reported from Pakistan and Afghanistan, though there has been a significant reduction in the number of cases reported from Pakistan this year.

– See more at: http://www.polioeradication.org/Dataandmonitoring/Poliothisweek.aspx#sthash.yzDML3DP.dpuf