So. Sudan 2013: New polio outbreak - NOT

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.oyetimes.com/news/africa/51463-new-polio-outbreak-declared-as-emergency

New Polio Outbreak Declared As ?Emergency?
Published on Monday, 30 September 2013 18:08
Written by Peter Lokale Nakimangole

A statement says the ministry is determined to stop its spread further as the Government of South Sudan is treating the polio outbreak with utmost priority.

During this time, all partners are encouraged to actively engage with county, state, and national counterparts in planning and implementation of response campaigns.
Three children have been confirmed with the infection; two in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State and another in Eastern Equatoria State says the press statements...

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: So. Sudan: New polio outbreak

Re: So. Sudan: New polio outbreak

Wild poliovirus in the Horn of Africa ? update

Disease outbreak news

1 OCTOBER 2013 - Three suspected cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) from South Sudan are currently being investigated. All three patients are girls, two of whom are approximately two-years-old and one is eight-years-old. All had previously been immunized with oral polio vaccine (OPV).

Two of the patients are from North Bahr El Gazal state (close to the border with Sudan), and one is from Eastern Equatoria state (close to the border with Kenya and Uganda). They developed paralysis between 15-24 August 2013. Genetic sequencing is ongoing to provide final confirmation of the laboratory results to determine the origin of the isolated viruses.

The Horn of Africa is currently experiencing an outbreak of WPV1, with 191 cases in Somalia, 14 cases in Kenya and three cases in Ethiopia. Because of the routes of poliovirus spread in previous Horn of Africa outbreaks, South Sudan had been considered at high risk of re-infection. In 2013, South Sudan conducted two National Immunization Days (NIDs) in March 2013 and April 2013, with additional NIDs planned for November 2013 and December 2013. Subnational Immunization Days (SNIDs) were conducted in August 2013.

Contingency plans for an emergency outbreak response are currently being finalized, including an immediate supplementary immunization activity (SIA) in and around the infected areas.

An international team of experts is being deployed to South Sudan, to assist the local authorities in further case investigations, planning for appropriate outbreak response, and further intensifying active searches for additional potential cases.

Immunization rates in neighbouring Sudan and Uganda are also being assessed to determine overall population immunity levels. As needed, additional SIAs will be conducted to help fill any identified immunity gaps. Uganda conducted SNIDs in July 2013 and September 2013, with further SNIDs planned for October 2013 and NIDs in December 2013. Sudan plans to conduct NIDs in November 2013 and December 2013. Outbreak response in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia is continuing.

It is important that all countries, in particular those with frequent travel and contacts with poliovirus-affected countries and areas, strengthen surveillance for cases of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) in order to rapidly detect any new virus importations and to facilitate a rapid response. Countries, territories and areas should also maintain uniformly high routine immunization coverage at the district level to minimize the consequences of any new virus introduction.

Through its Regional Offices for Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean, the World Health Organization (WHO) is continuing its support to countries in planning and implementing emergency outbreak response activities across the region.

WHO?s International Travel and Health recommends that all travelers to and from polio-affected areas be fully vaccinated against polio.

http://www.who.int/csr/don/2013_10_01/en/index.html

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: So. Sudan: New polio outbreak

Re: So. Sudan: New polio outbreak

Humanitarian Bulletin
South Sudan
23 - 29 September 2013

...
Government declares polio outbreak
The Government of South Sudan confirmed three cases of polio, one in
Eastern Equatoria and two in Northern Bahr el Ghazal, and declared the outbreak a national health emergency on 26 September.

Girls aged 2 and 8 years in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State, and a 2-year-old girl in Eastern Equatoria State were confirmed as having the wild polio virus after tests were conducted at the Kenya Medical
Research Institute in Nairobi.

South Sudan had been polio-free since
June 2009. However, since the polio outbreak in Somalia was confirmed in May
this year and cases reported in Kenya and Ethiopia, medical authorities in South Sudan have
been on high alert to look out for possible cases.

The Government is working closely with health partners in-country and around the world to
prevent the spread of the wild polio virus. An emergency vaccination campaign in the areas
where the polio virus was detected was launched and will continue through to 4 October in
Eastern Equatoria, Northern Bahr el Ghazal and Warrap states. This will compliment ongoing
efforts by the government and health partners in conducting preventive polio vaccination
campaigns since August, in areas considered most at risk of the polio outbreak, especially
along border areas. Additional campaigns are planned for all the states from October to
December to ensure children are protected from the polio virus.

Polio is an infectious disease transmitted from an infected person through water or food contaminated
with faecal matter. The disease has no cure, frequently kills children, leaves many
children disabled, and is highly contagious. Vaccination is the only means of protection.
...
http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefwe...umanitarian_Bulletin_23_29_September_2013.pdf

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: So. Sudan: New polio outbreak

Re: So. Sudan: New polio outbreak

13 Oct 2013

As Polio Cases Surge, Security Council Urges Sudan, To Engage In Vaccination Campaign

Alarmed by the imminent threat posed by the spread of polio through South Kordofan, the United Nations Security Council called on the Sudanese Government to carry out a vaccination campaign immediately to stop the spread of the disease.

11 October 2013 [UN NEWS] ? In a statement to the press, Council members expressed alarm and grave concern at the imminent threat of the spread of polio in Sudan?s South Kordofan province and the continuing outbreak of the disease in the Horn of Africa and in particular

They called on the Sudanese Government and the militant group of the Sudan People?s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) to urgently resolve differences over the technical plans necessary, including for safe passage, to implement the polio vaccination campaign as proposed by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the UN Children?s Fund (UNICEF), and the World Health Organization (WHO) as soon as possible.

The two-week vaccination campaign is scheduled to go forward in South Kordofan and Blue Nile on 5 November.

http://www.gurtong.net//ECM/Editorial/tabid/124/ID/13396/Default.aspx

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: So. Sudan: New polio outbreak

Re: So. Sudan: New polio outbreak

Humanitarian Bulletin
South Sudan
21-27 October 2013
...
South Sudan is polio free
The Government of South Sudan announced on 25 October 2013 that the country was polio
free. This was after the World Health Organization announced that the samples of the three
cases sent for further analysis to Center for Disease Control in Atlanta tested negative for
polio virus, following a laboratory error during the initial tests.

Following the announcement, South Sudan was removed from the list of countries with polio. However, the national Ministry of Health will continue with the planned sub-national and national vaccination
campaigns launched on 24 October.
South Sudan has been polio-free since June 2009. Since polio outbreaks were
confirmed in Somalia and other neighboring countries of Kenya and Ethiopia,
health authorities in South Sudan have been on high alert for any possible cases in the country.
...
http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefwe...Humanitarian Bulletin 21-27 October 2013.pdf

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: So. Sudan 2013: New polio outbreak - NOT

Humanitarian Bulletin
South Sudan
18-24 November 2013
...
National polio vaccination campaign targets 3.3 million children under fi ve
The Ministry of Health and its partners launched a national immunization campaign against
polio on 19 November, targeting 3.3 million children under fi ve years in all ten states. While
results are still being compiled, the campaign was largely successful, despite some access
issues in Jonglei State.
The polio vaccination is part of South Sudan?s routine immunization programme, which includes
vaccinations against six diseases that pose a major threat to infants and children:
diphtheria, measles, pertussis (whooping cough), polio, tetanus and tuberculosis. To be fully
immunized against polio, a child needs four rounds of polio vaccination. South Sudan has
been polio free for four years.
...
http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefwe...ekly Humanitarian Bulletin 18-24 Nov 2013.pdf