The WHO Regional Office for Europe declared on Wednesday that a poliovirus outbreak in Ukraine, detected in October 2021, is officially closed.
The decision to close the outbreak is based on the recommendations of a poliovirus outbreak assessment (OBRA) conducted by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) partners, including WHO. The OBRA in Ukraine was also followed by a review of actions taken by neighbouring countries, coordinated by WHO/Europe with financial support from USAID.
WHO writes that the comprehensive outbreak response initiated by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine in December 2021 faced multiple challenges since the end of February 2022, including massive population displacement, destruction of healthcare infrastructures and disruption of logistical routes for medical product deliveries.
“Stopping the spread of poliovirus in the midst of a devastating war is a major achievement and a clear demonstration of the highest level of political commitment of the Government of Ukraine to the welfare of its population,” said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe.
“Despite the unprecedented challenges, the necessary steps taken by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine to prevent the spread of poliovirus within and beyond the borders of Ukraine are immensely commendable.”
The outbreak was first detected in a young child in Ukraine in October 2021, following the importation of a poliovirus that had emerged in Pakistan and was previously detected in Tajikistan in 2021.
“The Ministry of Health declared the importation of this poliovirus a local public health emergency and acted swiftly since its detection in close coordination with the global public health community,” said Dr Viktor Liashko, Minister of Health of Ukraine. “The outbreak is now closed, but our work to prevent polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases in Ukraine continues despite all obstacles.”
According to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, polio remains endemic in two countries – Afghanistan and Pakistan. Until poliovirus transmission is interrupted in these countries, all countries remain at risk of importation of polio, especially vulnerable countries with weak public health and immunization services and travel or trade links to endemic countries.
An additional 12 countries are listed as Key At-Risk Countries, where low levels of immunity and surveillance leave them at risk of polio returning (Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tajikistan, and Uganda). To ensure that every country stays free from polio, it is essential to reach every child with polio vaccines and to strengthen disease surveillance.
The Brussels Times
