Dr
Zaffran said that it would be "pretty odd" to declare Africa polio free
if children are still being paralysed by the vaccine-derived form of the
virus.
“But it could still be the case that at the end of next year or early
the following year Africa is free of wild poliovirus,” he said. “I hope
that the efforts we have already put in place in Democratic Republic of
Congo and the Horn of Africa will have succeeded in stopping these
outbreaks we currently have because normally they do not last for too
long,” he said.
Syria experienced an outbreak of vaccine-derived virus last year, with more than 50 cases of the disease.
“In Syria we had a pretty aggressive set of campaigns
which interrupted circulation of the disease in four to five months
despite the war. In Somalia we have children who are not accessible in
some areas but I believe that we should be able to address these current
outbreaks,” he said.
Roland Sutter, coordinator of WHO's polio research, policy and
containment team, said that cases of vaccine-derived polio were “a big
concern”.
But he added: “The key is achieving very high immunisation coverage
in the affected populations just like we would with wild poliovirus.”
Attacks on vaccinators, a lack of security and mistrust have
hampered the final eradication efforts in the last two countries
reporting cases, with Helmand and Kandahar provinces in Afghanistan
proving particularly difficult, said Dr Zaffran.
“Afghanistan is facing tremendous difficulties, however the country
and all communities are fully committed to eradicating the disease,” he
said. “We need to gain access – consistent access to children in all
parts of the country. The surveillance system is extremely good and as
soon as we know the virus is circulating, if we are able to access the
area we go and vaccinate.”