PMID- 33954302
OWN - NLM
STAT- PubMed-not-MEDLINE
LR  - 20220422
VI  - Spec Issue
IP  - 2
DP  - 2021 Apr 7
TI  - Polio Outbreak Investigation and Response in The Horn of Africa: 2013-2016.
PG  - 1104
LID - 10.29245/2578-3009/2021/S2.1104 [doi]
LID - 1104
AB  - BACKGROUND: There has been civil strife, spanning more than two decades in some 
      countries and recurrent natural disasters in the Horn of Africa (HoA). This has 
      consistently maintained these countries in chronic humanitarian conditions. More 
      important however is the fact that these crises have also denied populations of 
      these countries access to access to lifesaving health services. Children in the 
      difficult terrains and security compromised areas are not given the required 
      immunization services to build their immunity against infectious diseases like 
      the poliovirus. This was the situation in 2013 when the large outbreaks of 
      poliovirus occurred in the HoA. This article reviews the epidemiology, risk, and 
      programme response to what is now famed as the 2013-204 poliovirus outbreaks in 
      the HoA and highlights the challenges that the programme faced in interrupting 
      poliovirus transmission here. METHODS: A case of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) 
      was defined as a child <15 years of age with sudden onset of fever and paralysis. 
      Polio cases were defined as AFP cases with stool specimens positive for WPV. 
      RESULTS: Between 2013 and 2016, when transmission was interrupted 20,266 polio 
      viruses were in the Horn of Africa region. In response to the outbreak, several 
      supplementary immunization activities were conducted with oral polio vaccine 
      (OPV) The trivalent OPV was used initially, followed subsequently by bivalent 
      OPV, and targeting various age groups, including children aged <5 years, children 
      aged <10 years, and individuals of any age. Other response activities were 
      undertaken to supplement the immunization in controlling the outbreak. Some of 
      these activities included the use of various communication strategies to create 
      awareness, sensitize and mobilize the populations against poliovirus 
      transmission. CONCLUSIONS: The outbreaks were attributed to the existence of 
      clusters of unvaccinated children due to inaccessibility to them by the health 
      system, caused by poor geographical terrain and conflicts. The key lesson 
      therefore is that the existence of populations with low immunity to infections 
      will necessary constitutes breeding grounds for disease outbreak and of course 
      reservoirs to the vectors. Though brought under reasonable control, the outbreaks 
      indicate that the threat of large polio outbreaks resulting from poliovirus 
      importation will remain constant unless polio transmission is interrupted in the 
      remaining polio-endemic countries of the world.
FAU - Okiror, Samuel
AU  - Okiror S
AD  - WHO Horn of Africa Coordination Office (HOA), Nairobi KENYA.
FAU - Mulugeta, Abraham
AU  - Mulugeta A
AD  - WHO, EMRO Amman.
FAU - Onuekwusi, Iheoma
AU  - Onuekwusi I
AD  - WHO, Nairobi Kenya.
FAU - Braka, Fiona
AU  - Braka F
AD  - WHO Country Office, Nigeria.
FAU - Malengemi, Sylvesta
AU  - Malengemi S
AD  - WHO, Juba South Sudan.
FAU - Burton, John
AU  - Burton J
AD  - UNHCR, Nairobi Kenya.
FAU - Hydarav, Rustam
AU  - Hydarav R
AD  - UNICEF Nairobi Kenya.
FAU - Toure, Brigitte
AU  - Toure B
AD  - UNICEF Nairobi Kenya.
FAU - Davis, Bob
AU  - Davis B
AD  - American Red Cross, Nairobi Kenya.
FAU - Gathenji, Carolyn
AU  - Gathenji C
AD  - WHO Horn of Africa Coordination Office (HOA), Nairobi KENYA.
FAU - Nwogu, Chidiadi
AU  - Nwogu C
AD  - WHO Horn of Africa Coordination Office (HOA), Nairobi KENYA.
FAU - Okeibunor, Joseph
AU  - Okeibunor J
AD  - WHO Regional Office for Africa (WHO AFRO).
LA  - eng
GR  - 001/WHO_/World Health Organization/International
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - United States
TA  - J Immunol Sci
JT  - Journal of immunological sciences
JID - 101721947
PMC - PMC7610730
MID - EMS123245
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - Horn of Africa
OT  - Outbreak
OT  - Poliomyelitis eradication
OT  - Poliovirus
EDAT- 2021/05/07 06:00
MHDA- 2021/05/07 06:01
PMCR- 2021/05/04
CRDT- 2021/05/06 07:10
PHST- 2021/05/06 07:10 [entrez]
PHST- 2021/05/07 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2021/05/07 06:01 [medline]
PHST- 2021/05/04 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - 10.29245/2578-3009/2021/S2.1104 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - J Immunol Sci. 2021 Apr 7;Spec Issue(2):1104. doi: 
      10.29245/2578-3009/2021/S2.1104.