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WHO: Polio eliminated from Southeast Asia
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The Southeast Asia region of WHO has been declared “polio-free,” according to a news release. The region is the fourth of six regions to be certified, making 80% of the global population now polio-free.
“This is a momentous victory for the millions of health workers who have worked with governments, nongovernmental organizations, civil society and international partners to eradicate polio from the region,” Poonam Khetrapal Singh, MD, director of the WHO Southeast Asia region, said in the release. “It is a sign of what we can bequeath our children when we work together.”
Poonam Khetrapal Singh
According to WHO, the South-East Asia Regional Certification Commission for Polio Eradication (SEA-RCCPE) — an independent panel of about a dozen experts in areas such as public health, epidemiology, virology and clinical medicine — deliberated for 2 days on evidence from all 11 countries in the region before certifying that polio had been eradicated. Certification depends upon several conditions being met, including:
- At least 3 years with no confirmed indigenous cases of infection with wild poliovirus;
- Excellent laboratory-based surveillance capabilities;
- A demonstrated capability to detect, report and respond to imported cases of infection;
- A guarantee of safe containment of polioviruses in laboratories.
The countries located in WHO’s Southeast Asia region include Bangladesh, Bhutan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste.
Because health workers were able to vaccinate difficult-to-reach communities, other essential health services can be delivered successfully to the same vulnerable populations, according to Singh.
“Thanks to polio eradication, we now know where these children are who were difficult to reach with vaccine,” she said. “Now the polio program has successfully reached them with polio drops in every round, there is no excuse not to go back with other critical health services, from how to have a safe birth, to where to get access to tuberculosis treatment and how to prevent HIV infection.”
Perspective
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Walter A. Orenstein, MD
As stated by the WHO Director General, this certification means that 80% of the global population now lives in areas which have been certified as having no indigenous wild polioviruses, a remarkable accomplishment. It also means that polio eradication is feasible. But it also indicates that we must invigorate our efforts in those areas where polio continues to circulate, particularly in the wild poliovirus reservoir countries, Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan. As long as polio remains in those countries we risk reintroductions into areas that are now wild poliovirus free.
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