Three countries—Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Mozambique—reported more polio cases last week, all involving vaccine-derived strains, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) said in its latest weekly update.
Chad reported a circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) case from Logone Occidental, bringing its 2023 total to five.
The DRC reported nine more cVDPV2 cases, eight included in its 2023 total and one added to its 2022 total. The cases were from six different provinces. Also, the country reported 12 cases involving circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 (cVDPV1), eight included in its 2023 total and four included in its 2022 total. The infections are from three provinces.
Also, Mozambique reported one cVDPV1 case from Zambezia, its first case involving the strain of 2023.
More details about Peru's polio investigation
In March, Peru reported a vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 (VDPV1) case involving an unvaccinated child with no travel history whose paralysis symptoms began in December. In an Apr 7 update, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) posted an update on the investigation, which notes that health officials are waiting on test results for another suspected case as well as those for the first patient's asymptomatic contacts.
PAHO said a genetic analysis done at the Oswaldo Cruz institute suggests the virus isn't related to any other detected VDPV1 strains, signifying a new strain. Health officials are testing nine fecal samples, including that from a child younger than 18 months from Atahualpa native community who developed paralysis symptoms. The samples also include four contacts and four unvaccinated children as part of community surveillance.