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Somalia Weekly Polio Update: Week 36 & 37 2019

Countries
Somalia
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Sources
UNICEF
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Publication date

Situation Update

• The Somalia Polio Programme has not confirmed any new cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) in children with acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) since 8 May 2019. Three cVDPV2 cases have been reported in Somalia across 2019. In total, fifteen children with paralysis as a result of cVDPV have been detected in Somalia since the onset of the ongoing concurrent cVDPV2 and cVDPV3 outbreaks;

• A sub-national bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV) campaign for 41 districts is ongoing between 23 – 26 September; these selected districts have experienced polio cases previously, have lower vaccination coverage and high numbers of children who remain at risk of polio;

• In neighbouring Ethiopia, the last confirmed case of a child with AFP and confirmed cVDPV2 was reported from Dolo zone in Somali region with onset of paralysis on 22 July 2019. This is the second cVDPV2 case reported in Ethiopia in 2019. Both confirmed cases in 2019 are epidemiologically linked to the ongoing outbreak in Somalia;

• The Somalia Polio Programme last detected and confirmed circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 3 (cVDPV3) in a child with AFP on 7 September 2018.

Latest Activities

Bivalent Oral Polio Vaccine (bOPV) Campaign

A bOPV campaign designed to reach populations where vaccination coverage is low and children subsequentially remain at risk of polio infection is ongoing in 41 districts between 23 – 26 September. The polio programme aims to reach 1 632 085 children with polio vaccine during this targeted campaign.

In many of the selected districts, there are large numbers of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and Nomadic communities, with children who may have been missed by previous campaigns. Some districts share a border with districts that are inaccessible to vaccination teams, and this bOPV campaign will aim to vaccinate those children who may move between these areas.