No new Wild Polio cases reported this week.  We are now 11 weeks since the most recent reported Wild Polio Case – on 2/20/23 in Pakistan. 

What is that Polio Picture? Adam Gorish Hamid’s family was shattered when his nephew, Mostafa, contracted polio in December 2022. Mostafa was never vaccinated against polio, and now is left to live with its debilitating impacts. Today, his uncle Hamid has chosen to help other families avoid this tragedy and is leading the fight against vaccine-preventable diseases as an advocate in his nomadic community in Sudan.

Will you be near Washington DC on June 17, 2023? If so, consider joining local Rotarians for their END POLIO NOW Night at the Washington Nationals Baseball Game. For each ticket purchased, the Nationals will donate $5 to The Rotary Foundation’s PolioPlus effort! See the flier attached for ticket information.

Attending the Rotary Convention in Melbourne? Melbourne has beautiful parks, gardens, and walking trails — so join us Friday, 26 May, for a leisurely 2.5-kilometer (1.5-mile) End Polio Now Walk. We’ll go from Federation Square in the city centre along the magnificent St Kilda Road and past many of the city’s finest landmarks to the Rotary Melbourne Peace Park in the beautiful Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. At the park, take time to find plaques commemorating Rotary leaders over the years, including Paul Harris.

You are also invited to the PolioPlus breakout session “Delivering on the Dream of a Polio-free World,” scheduled for May 31, from 9:00-10:00 AM. Come to this session, moderated by International PolioPlus Committee Chair Michael McGovern, to hear a global update on the status of polio eradication efforts from WHO Polio Eradication Director Aidan O’Leary and remarks from Past RI President John Germ, RI Director Jessie Harman, and Rotary Foundation Trustee and National PolioPlus Committee Chair in Pakistan Aziz Memon.

A Win Against Polio is a Win for Global Health!

2023 Circulating Vaccine Derived Polio Cases – 70 Benin – 2, Central African Republic – 5, Chad – 6, Cite d’ Ivoire – 1, DR Congo – 34, Indonesia – 3, Israel – 1, Madagascar – 9, Mozambique – 3, Nigeria – 4, Somalia – 2.

New Polio Cases & Samples This Week – Chad – 1  cVDPV2 Case, DR Congo – 6 cVDPV2 Cases, Madagascar – 17 cVDPV1 Samples, Nigeria 3 cVDPV2 Cases + 2 cVDPV2 Samples, Somalia – 1 cVDPV2 Case.

2022 Circulating Vaccine Derived Polio Case Total – 908 Afghanistan – 43, Algeria – 3, Benin – 11 (3 in 2021), Burundi – 1, Cameroon – 3 (3 in 2021), Central African Republic – 5, Chad -44 (0 in 2021), DR Congo – 506 (28 in 2021), Republic of Congo – 1, Eritrea – 1, Ethiopia – 1, Ghana – 3, Indonesia – 1, Israel – 1, Madagascar – 14 (13 in 2021), Malawi – 4, Mali – 2, Mozambique – 22 (2 in 2021), Niger – 15 (18 in 2021), Nigeria – 48 (415 in 2021), Pakistan – 8, Somalia – 5 (1 in 2021), Sudan – 1, Togo – 2, United States – 1, Yemen – 162 (69 in 2021).

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 problem with quotes found on the internet is that they’re not always true.” …read more

— Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), US 16th President 

The Final Two Polio Endemic Countries:

as of 5/13/2023

0 new Polio cases reported this week. The most recent cases had an onset of paralysis on 8/29/22.
0 WPV1 and 0 CVDPV2-Positive Environmental Samples were reported this week in Afghanistan.
0 Wild Polio cases – 2023
2 Wild Polio case – 2022
4 Wild Polio cases – 2021
56 Wild Polio cases – 2020

Our Goal is Global Polio Eradication!!

Terry Ziegler, Polio Update Newsletter Editor Rotary Region 36