Highlights
• Zimbabwe has been responding to the polio outbreak since the declaration of Wild Polio Virus type 1 (WPV1) in Malawi in 2022. Further, in October 2023, Zimbabwe declared polio outbreak as a Public Health Emergency (PHE) following the detection of circulating vaccine derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2). An index human polio virus type 2 was reported in a 10-year-old girl with a case of Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) in January 2024.
• The Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) in collaboration with the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) partners have been conducting the response interventions since 2022, applying innovative technology and online data tools to enhance real time monitoring and use of data for improvements.
• Four bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV) rounds were conducted in response to the WPV1 outbreak in the Southern African region in 2022 and 2023, targeting children under 5 years of age. In February and March 2024, two rounds of novel oral poliomyelitis (polio) vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) were administered in Zimbabwe, with a cumulative coverage of 4.6 million and 4.8 million children under 10 years of age respectively.
• A mop-up campaign is tentatively planned for selected districts in Harare Province from 1-4 July 2024, using the available balance of nOPV2 vaccines from previous rounds.
• To date, Zimbabwe has detected 22 circulating cVDPV2 cases from four environmental samples (ES) in Harare since October 2023 (17 cases from 2023 and five in 2024).
• Zimbabwe has expanded the number of environmental sites from four sites in 2023 in one province to nine sites in five provinces as of May 2024.
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
Zimbabwe last reported a case of indigenous wild poliovirus (WPV) in 1986 and has been certified polio free since 2005. Following the detection of wild poliovirus 1 (WPV1) in Mozambique and Malawi in 2022, Zimbabwe undertook nation-wide supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) with bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV2) and conducted four rounds of SIA in 2022 and 2023.
The circulating vaccine derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) outbreak was declared a public health emergency by the Minister of Health and Child Care in October 2023. Polio outbreak response activities commenced with plans to conduct two rounds of supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) using novel oral poliomyelitis (polio) vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) in February and March 2024 reaching 4.6 million and 4.8 million children under 10 years of age respectively in each round. The proportion of districts that passed the Lot Quality Assuring Sampling (LQAS) results increased from 73 per cent in round one to 82 per cent in round two of nOPV2 campaign. Technical operational issues are major contributors for having a high number of missed children (child absent, house not visited, and no revisits). These issues are being addressed through in-between round activities such as Periodic Intensification of Routine Immunization (PIRI) engaging the religious and traditional leaders to address refusal, and the use of village health workers.
Following the campaign and Expanded Programme of Immunization (EPI) review, a mop-up vaccination campaign is planned for selected underperforming districts in Harare Province, tentatively scheduled for 1-4 July. This campaign will utilize the remaining balance of nOPV2 vaccines from previous rounds. Preparations for the mop-up campaign are ongoing, including the initiation of national supervisors’ trainings, updated chronogram of activities, and the establishment of SIA monitoring dashboard at national level.
Credit: Source link