battle continues. A poster encouraging vaccination against polio in the 1960s
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Citing "extraordinary" circumstances, the World health organization (WHO) said today the international spread of wild poliovirus an international public health emergency. It is only the second time the WHO declared an emergency, saying the recent export of polio in three countries in the adjacent areas could threaten the global effort to eradicate the disease.
The new recommendations, which are not legally binding but have an enormous weight, the three countries considered to pose the greatest risk of spread and Pakistan, Cameroon and Syria, must now ensure that all residents and long term visitors have proof of vaccination against the recent polio before leaving the country. WHO also encourages the other seven nations known to have polio infections to implement similar measures
This is just the second time that such an emergency has been declared under Regulation International health adopted in 05. the first was during the H1N1 swine flu pandemic in April 09.
Stop and prevent the spread of polio requires a coordinated international response the emergency of the International health Regulations concluded today unanimously Committee. If the situation is left unchecked, it could result in failure to globally eradicating polio, "one of the most serious preventable disease vaccines in the world."
After a record year in 2012 when polio cases were generally at a low level -time, the situation deteriorates sharply in 2013, when 417 cases were reported. And so far this year, three of the 10 nations known to have polio exported the virus outside their borders: Pakistan to Afghanistan, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Iraq and Syria This gap is particularly alarming, as the committee because it took place. during the "low season" from January to April, when the transmission of polio usually ebbs;. high season begins in May or June
the consequences of the spread is large, the committee warned, due to the large number of currently free from polio but "conflict torn states and fragile", where routine immunization is low and mounting an effective response would be particularly difficult. Bruce Aylward, who heads the global initiative to eradicate polio and announced the decision at a press conference this morning, said he is particularly concerned about the spread of Cameroon in Central African Republic.
Starting immediately, the committee recommended, Pakistan, Cameroon and Syria must ensure that all residents have proof of polio vaccination, either with the vaccine against polio oral or inactivated polio vaccine, from 4 weeks to 12 months before leaving the country. For emergency travel, vaccination must be provided at least at the time of departure. In a nod to the difficulty of ensuring compliance when so many refugees fleeing civil war in Syria, Aylward acknowledged that neighboring Syria already require all registered refugees be vaccinated. Many refugees are not registered, however. Similarly, the implementation of these recommendations to the porous border between Afghanistan and Pakistan may be impossible
The committee also recommends a little less stringent measures for countries that are currently infected, but are not exported polio this year :. Afghanistan, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Israel, Somalia and Nigeria. There, the WHO states that governments should "encourage" as opposed to "ensure" that all residents and long term visitors are vaccinated before leaving the country.
This should continue until at least 6 months after all reported cases of wild poliovirus in 10 countries. The Emergency Committee will meet again in three months to review the situation and decide whether tougher measures are needed
* Correction, May 5, 12:35 :. The month the WHO declared the first public health emergency under the International Health Regulations adopted in 05 has been fixed.
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