Polio Outbreak Strikes Tajikistan

(HN, April 25, 2010) - In a potentially worrisome setback in the global fight against polio, the landlocked country of Tajikistan has been hit by a polio outbreak that has already claimed the lives of 10 children. The virus was most likely imported from neighbouring Afghanistan - a polio endemic country.

The World Health Organization says its has deployed a team of experts to investigate the outbreak in the south-west corner of this Central Asian nation, in the area bordering Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.

A sharp increase in early April of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) cases prompted Tajikistan’s government to contact WHO about a possible polio outbreak. As part of a joint investigation by the Tajik national health authorities and WHO, laboratory tests by the WHO collaborating centre in Moscow confirmed poliovirus as the cause of the outbreak. This is the first outbreak from imported poliovirus in the WHO European Region since it was certified polio-free in 2002. 

As of 22 April, 128 AFP cases have been reported and 10 children have died. Uzbekistan has also reported three AFP cases, which are under investigation. 

Tajikistan’s last case of clinically confirmed polio was in 1997. Even though it is one of the poorest countries in the region, Tajikistan has relatively high vaccination rates - with reported coverage nationwide at 87% in 2008, which is the last year for which complete data are available to WHO. 

At the Tajik government’s request, technical experts from WHO have started a detailed outbreak investigation and response in accordance with standard international guidelines. 

Tajikistan will hold three nationwide vaccination campaigns in a short time frame to halt the outbreak. The campaign will be managed by the Tajik Ministry of Health, with support from WHO, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Rotary International has already offered an emergency grant to begin the vaccination campaign. 

There is a worry that the virus - which travels quickly and easily - may spread to other neighbouring countries. Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Nigeria are the four remaining polio-endemic countries in the world, although recent outbreaks were registered in several countries in Africa due to importation.

--- Reporting by HUMNEWS Staff, WHO.