Response to a Large Polio Outbreak in a Setting of Conflict — Middle East, 2013–2015

Details

• Journal Article:
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Personal Author:
  Mbaeyi, Chukwuma ; Ryan, Michael J. ; Smith, Philip ; Mahamud, Abdirahman ; Farag, Noha ; Haithami, Salah ; Sharaf, Magdi ; Jorba, Jaume C. ; Ehrhardt, Derek
• Description:
  As the world advances toward the eradication of polio, outbreaks of wild polioVirus (WPV) in polio-free regions pose a substantial risk to the timeline for global eradication. Countries and regions experiencing active conflict, chronic insecurity, and large-scale displacement of persons are particularly vulnerable to outbreaks because of the disruption of health care and immunization services (1). A polio outbreak occurred in the Middle East, beginning in Syria in 2013 with subsequent spread to Iraq (2). The outbreak occurred 2 years after the onset of the Syrian civil war, resulted in 38 cases, and was the first time WPV was detected in Syria in approximately a decade (3,4). The national governments of eight countries designated the outbreak a public health emergency and collaborated with partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) to develop a multiphase outbreak response plan focused on improving the quality of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) Surveillance* and administering polio vaccines to >27 million children during multiple rounds of supplementary immunization activities (SIAs).| Successful implementation of the response plan led to containment and interruption of the outbreak within 6 months of its identification. The concerted approach adopted in response to this outbreak could serve as a model for responding to polio outbreaks in settings of conflict and political instability.
• Subjects:
  Disease Outbreaks Full Report Humans Immunization Programs Poliomyelitis PolioVirus PolioVirus Vaccines Warfare
• Source:
  MMWR Morbidity Mortal Weekly Rep. 66(8):227-231.
• Series:
  Weekly Report: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• DOI:
  http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6608a6
• ISSN:
  0149-2195 (print) ; 1545-861X (digital)
• Pubmed ID:
  28253229
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC5657899
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Middle East
• Pages in Document:
  5 pdf pages
• Volume:
  66
• Issue:
  8
• Collection(s):
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:8c18b5b43dbf02ec8eb689f1c52c33ff6b4a631e7f64ad23def2c11cb220aa9f1c8be9f3b97013d6916f5b8ec5b47e8be1856806f2e5219250ac981e7ad7c41b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/54095/cdc_54095_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 690.22 KB ]