WHO declares country polio-free

Egypt has been declared polio-free for the first time ever by the World Health Organization (WHO). “Over a year has passed since the last sample of polio was found here,” said Faten Kamel, a medical officer with the WHO polio programme in the capital, Cairo. “We can safely say that we have successfully eradicated polio in Egypt.” A year must pass from the most recent detection of a virus before the WHO can declare a country risk-free. The last trace of the polio virus in Egypt was registered on 17 January, 2005 in sewage, while the last case of paralysis, which often afflicts sufferers of the disease, was recorded in May 2004. Previously, one case was reported in 2003 and seven in 2002. Polio is carried only in excrement, and can be transmitted when food or water are tainted with affected sewage. The disease can cause irreversible paralysis in children within hours of infection. Egypt has the oldest recorded documentation of polio epidemics in the world, with records of infection dating back to Pharaonic times. In light of this history, health officials routinely carry out environmental surveillance, collecting sewage from 41 locations for analysis countrywide. “Egypt’s battle against polio has been long,” Kamel said. “But the level of campaigning has been such that we have at last reaped the benefits.” Egypt, for example, was one of the first countries to introduce high-intensity immunisation drives. “In 1989, we introduced bi-annual immunisation campaigns,” said Kamel. “And in 2002, we launched house-to-house campaigns, counting on tens of thousands of volunteers and health workers to vaccinate children across Egypt.” In 2005, a vaccine for Type 1 polio, designed specifically for the type of virus found in Egypt, was introduced. The drive for immunisation and eradication has been a multilateral effort. “All our campaigns have counted on the support of independent monitors,” Kamel said. “In addition, collaboration between the WHO, the Ministry of Health and high-level officials including the First Lady Suzanne Mubarak has rendered our work all the more efficient.” Nevertheless, the WHO does not discount the possibility of a resurgence of the virus, and intends to continue promoting immunisation and prevention. “As long as the virus exists anywhere in the world,” Kamel said, “Egypt is not completely out of danger.” Some countries that have been pronounced polio-free in the past have seen subsequent resurgences of the virus, such as Niger and Somalia. Polio remains endemic in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.