Health Alerts

Hepatitis E infections have sickened more than 60 people, mainly women, in the last month in Almas, Upper Dir district of the northern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the outbreak is still uncontained – most families in the area have been affected.

FIVE more wild poliovirus cases have taken the 2019 total to 128, however that figure is expected to rise with multiple tests still to be completed. The recent cases were from the provinces of Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In other polio news, no further updates since Dec 27 on the 3mo baby found to be infected with cVDPV2 in early December in the Malaysian state of Sabah or on results of tests that were pending on 20 people who had contact with the child, however it was revealed that more than 2,200 children had been checked at that time and none had signs of acute flaccid paralysis. An extensive immunisation campaign has commenced in the state and in mid-December some news sources claimed that overseas visitors would also be vaccinated. From Africa: Angola’s most recent cVDPV2 cases were in the provinces of Benguela, Moxico, Cuanza Sul, Bie, Luanda, Bengo, Uige and Huambo - they take the 2019 total to 71 cases; cVDPV2 cases were also recorded in Chad. Ghana, Togo (Plateaux province) and Zambia (Kalabo District, Western Province). Lastly, the report from the 23rd meeting of the IHR Emergency Committee Regarding the International Spread of Poliovirus held last month cited multiple factors in the decision to continue the temporary recommendations for a further three months. From the NaTHNaC summary of the meeting: Malaysia and the Philippines have been added to the list of countries infected with WPV1, cVDPV1 or cVDPV3 with the potential risk of international spread - these countries have a certificate requirement for polio vaccination under IHR (2005); Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Somalia, Togo and Zambia are now also categorised as states infected with cVDPV2, with potential or demonstrated risk of international spread and, while there is no certificate requirement under IHR (2005) for these countries, travellers are encouraged to carry proof of polio vaccination; Papua New Guinea is no longer infected by WPV1 or cVDPV, but remains vulnerable to re-infection by WPV or cVDPV; and Iran and Syria are no longer polio-virus infected, but at high risk of outbreaks. Read more.