Re-emergence of poliomyelitis in the Ukraine, caused by circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2)

ABSTRACT

On October 2nd, 2021, a case of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) was notified to the World Health Organisation from the Rivne Oblast of Ukraine. The index case was a seventeen-month-old unvaccinated girl who had an onset of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) on September 1st, 2021. A second cVDPV2 case of an unvaccinated 2-year-old boy was reported from Transcarpathia Oblast on December 13th, 2021, who subsequently developed AFP on December 24th, 2021. A further 19 close contacts were identified with cVDPV2 that did not develop AFP that were all linked to the index case. Poliomyelitis outbreaks have occurred infrequently in the Ukraine since 2015, after being certified polio-free in 2002. The current outbreak has occurred against the backdrop of suboptimal vaccination coverage across the Ukraine since the previous outbreak saw a serious vaccine push across the country. However, the latest vaccine push in February 2022 has stalled due to the Russia-Ukraine war, leaving citizens displaced in shelters and border crossings, unable to access healthcare or routine immunisations. © 2022, Global Biosecurity. All Rights Reserved.