APO Group
Monday June 22, 2020
Four new circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) positive sewage samples have been identified from environmental surveillance (ES) sites in Mogadishu, indicating ongoing transmission and circulation of polioviruses.
This brings the total number of cVDPV2 positive samples to 11 in 2020.
The last reported case of paralysis in a child due to cVDPV2 was 8 May 2019.
In total, 16 children with polio have been identified across Somalia since the initial detection of the ongoing cVDPV2 and cVDPV3 outbreaks in late 2017.
The programme continues to observe a reduction in the number of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) cases detected in May due to the impact of COVID-19. A review is planned to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the AFP surveillance system.
AFP sample transportation to the KEMRI laboratory remains uninterrupted. The polio programme has synchronized its sample collection with COVID-19 sample transportation.