Horn of Africa again Polio free

As of July 30, the Horn of Africa is again polio-free, with Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, and Uganda having reported no wild poliovirus cases for more than a year. This date marks a step toward the achievement of a major objective of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative's new strategy - stopping polio in Africa. The GPEI spearheading partners are the World Health Organization, Rotary International, the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and UNICEF.

The outbreak began in 2008, following the reappearance of wild poliovirus type 1 in the border area of southern Sudan and Ethiopia, and spread in early 2009 to the northern Sudanese city of Port Sudan and to Kenya and Uganda. In total, 101 children were paralysed by polio in these four countries between 2 March 2008 and 30 July2009.

The cases in Port Sudan sparked particular international concern because, from 2004 to 2006, wild poliovirus type 1 from that area spread to re-infect several countries, including Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and Yemen.

A combination of a series of multi-country immunization campaigns, increased technical support, and strong political engagement by the affected countries proved to be the backbone of the successful outbreak response.

The threat of outbreaks remains a risk until transmission of wild poliovirus is stopped in the remaining polio-endemic countries of Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Importation of the virus from such areas is responsible for ongoing outbreaks, such as in Angola and Tajikistan, both of which have led to further international spread.

Financial constraints have been a concern in the fight against polio. Somalia and Ethiopia, where vaccination campaigns are necessary to protect gains, have had to delay polio-eradication activities to later in the year in order to maintain efforts in endemic countries and countries with re-established transmission of poliovirus.