Abstract
In 2013, a silent wild poliovirus type 1 importation and sustained transmission event occurred in southern Israel. With the aim of preventing clinical poliomyelitis and ensuring virus re-elimination, the public health response to the importation event included intensifi cation of clinical and environmental surveillance activities, enhancement of vaccine coverage, and supplemental immunisation with a bivalent oral polio vaccine against wild poliovirus types 1 and 3. A national campaign launched in August, 2013, resulted in vaccination of 943 587 children younger than 10 years (79% of the eligible target population). Expanded environmental surveillance (roughly 80% population coverage) documented a gradual disappearance of wild poliovirus type 1 in the country from September, 2013, to April, 2014. No paralytic poliomyelitis case was detected. A prompt extensive and coordinated national public health response, implemented on the basis of evidence-based decision making, successfully contained this serious importation and sustained transmission event of wild poliovirus to Israel. On April 28, 2015, WHO offi cially declared Israel as a polio-free country.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 70 |
Pages (from-to) | 1236-1242 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | The Lancet Infectious Diseases |
Volume | 15 |
Issue number | 10 |
DOIs |
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State | Published - 1 Oct 2015 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:LMS has received a WHO grant for environmental surveillance of poliovirus to his institution and support from WHO for travel to WHO meetings and from the US Food and Drug Administration for travel to a workshop at the US National Institutes of Health. All other authors declare no competing interests.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2013.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Infectious Diseases