Conflict and infectious disease go hand in hand.

According to WHO sources, several wastewater samples were found to be positive to vaccine derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) on July 16th, 2024. These were linked to a similar variant identified in Egypt in 2023. None had been identified in Gaza.

A case of clinical polio has since been notified.

The Gaza war has caused a fall in immunization rates and provided optimum conditions for an outbreak of polio in the community. Immunisation coverage for the second dose of polio fell from 99% in 2022 to less than 90% in the first quarter of 2024. It is well recognized that levels above 95% are required to reduce the risk of re-emergence of this old scourge.

WHO is hoping to deliver 1.6 million doses (2 rounds) of the vaccine to children under 10 years if a humanitarian pause in the fighting can be implemented. There is regional concern for the spread of polio.

In early July, WHO convened a meeting on the international spread of poliovirus. According to shared data, 72 cases of vaccine derived polio have been notified in 2024. Thirty cases have been confirmed in Nigeria (42%).

Several other countries including, Algeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Liberia, Mozambique, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Uganda, and Zimbabwe have identified vaccine derived polio in the environment.

Five hundred and twenty-seven cases were reported in 2023 with 224 (43%) in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Polio eradication remains a distant dream.

For more on vaccine derived poliovirus, see Polio Eradication Program: Where do we stand in 2024?