Equatorial Guinea reports third polio case of 2014, linked to Cameroon outbreak
A new wild poliovirus 1 (WPV1) case was reported this week from Bata district, Litoral province, Equatorial Guinea with onset of paralysis on 16 March. According to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, this is the third case reported in the central African country this year.
Poliovirus Credits: CDC
Genetic sequencing indicates the cases are linked to an ongoing WPV1 outbreak in Cameroon. Outbreak response in the country is currently being planned. For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page
Since confirmation of the outbreak in Cameroon in October, six nationwide campaigns have been conducted. However, the quality of implementation has varied greatly by region, and serious coverage gaps remain. As many as 40% of children remain under-immunized (with 30% having received zero doses) during SIAs.
Immunity levels and surveillance sensitivity are also being assessed in neighboring countries, in particular in Gabon and the Republic of Congo, and additional immunization activities are being planned in these countries for May.
Elsewhere, only Pakistan reported additional polio cases during the past week. Four new WPV1 cases were reported this week including two from South Waziristan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas – FATA, one from Bannu district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and one from Karachi (Khiorangi), Sindh, bringing the total number of cases for 2014 to 47.
So far in 2014, there has been 61 polio cases reported. Of these, 52 are from the three remaining polio endemic countries of Pakistan (47), Afghanistan (4) and Nigeria (1).
[…] analysis of the WPV1 indicated a close match with a strain of polio recently isolated from a case of polio in Equatorial Guinea. The epidemiological investigation is […]
[…] Equatorial Guinea reports third polio case of 2014, linked to Cameroon outbreak A new wild poliovirus 1 (WPV1) case was reported this week from Bata district, Litoral province, Equatorial Guinea with onset of paralysis on 16 March. According to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, this is the third case reported in the central … Read more on The Global Dispatch […]
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