What is that Polio Picture? As Pakistan continues to struggle from the effects of the devastating floods affecting parts of the country, polio staff on the ground continue to assist emergency relief efforts.

In flood-affected districts, the polio effort is supporting establishment of critical health camps, to provide basic clinical services, particularly ensuring treatment of water-borne and vector-borne diseases, and distributing water purification tablets.  All routine immunization antigens are also provided to target children and pregnant women.  Staff are actively conducting surveillance for communicable diseases, identifying nutrition needs of displaced populations, and collecting and analyzing life-saving data to help target response strategies. 

At the same time, the Polio program is adapting its operations, to ensure polio eradication efforts can continue unabated, even amid the tragedy.  The program is at a critical juncture – intensive response is ongoing to stop this year’s outbreak in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.  Virus linked to this outbreak was this month detected in an environmental sample from Karachi, in the south of the country.  At the same time, the high transmission season for polio transmission is now starting and this transmission risks being particularly intense given the floods.

But despite these challenges, polio staff are working double-time:  adapting polio approaches, while supporting life-saving flood relief efforts.

“I have been fortunate enough to be present when a number of countries successfully eradicated polio,” commented Dr Hamid Jafari, Director for Polio Eradication at the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean.  “Rarely have I seen such commitment and dedication than I have seen in Pakistan – from national political leaders, to health workers, right to the mother and father on the ground.  To all who are involved, all I can say is:  Thank you!  You are making a huge difference to people’s lives, which goes far beyond the effort to eradicate polio.”

 A Win Against Polio is a Win for Global Health!

2022 Circulating Vaccine Derived Polio Case Total – 444 Afghanistan – 43, Algeria – 1, Benin – 6 (3 in 2021), Central African Republic – 3, Chad – 18 (0 in 2021), DR Congo – 147 (28 in 2021), Eritrea – 1, Ghana – 2, Israel – 1, Madagascar – 8 (13 in 2021), Malawi – 2, Mozambique – 8 (2 in 2021), Niger – 10 (18 in 2021), Nigeria – 36 (415 in 2021), Pakistan – 8, Somalia – 4 (1 in 2021), Togo – 0, United States – 1, Yemen – 145 (69 in 2021).

New Polio Cases & Samples This Week – D R Congo – 4 cVDPV2 Cases, Nigeria – 3 cVDPV2 Cases.

2021 Circulating Vaccine Derived Polio Cases -689 in 22 Countries.  

2020 Circulating Vaccine Derived Polio Cases – 1,113 in 26 countries in 2020.

Quote of the Day

“The future depends on what you do today.“

— Mahatma Gandhi

The Final Two Polio Endemic Countries:

as of 10/15/2022

0 new Polio cases reported this week.
2 Wild Polio case – 2022, (4 Wild Polio cases, 2021). The most recent cases had an onset of paralysis on 9/10/22.
56 Wild Polio cases – 2020.
0 WPV1 and 0 CVDPV2-Positive Environmental Samples were reported this week in Afghanistan.

Our Goal is Global Polio Eradication!!

Terry Ziegler, Endowment/Major Gifts Adviser Rotary Region 36