It's like climbing a steep mountain ..."3 steps forward, slide 2 steps back...it doesn't mean it's not doable, it just means that it's a little bit harder...Same with our fight against polio...2 weeks without a new case of it, surging forward, then a week of sliding back with 3 new cases. But we persist and we will win...Hang in there everyone!!!UNFORTUNATELY, THIS WEEK SAW 3 NEW CASES OF WILD POLIO TYPE 1 (WPV1) SO OUR COUNT YEAR-TO-DATE HAS INCREASED TO 19, (2 IN AFGHANISTAN AND 17 IN PAKISTAN). THIS COMPARES TO 18 FOR THE SAME PERIOD IN 2024. THERE WAS ALSO 1 POSITIVE ENVIRONMENTAL SAMPLE (ES) COLLECTED FROM PAKISTAN.
Dates of the most recent wild poliovirus cases: Afghanistan: 03/09/25 Pakistan: 07/07/25
Senegal and Mauritania Introduce Hexavalent Vaccines
Senegal and Mauritania have taken a major step forward in protecting children by introducing the hexavalent vaccine into their national immunization schedules. This new six-in-one vaccine adds the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) to the pentavalent vaccine (diphtheria, tetanus, whole-cell pertussis, hepatitis B, and Haemophilus influenzae type b), reducing the number of shots children need. This is a game changer for children’s health as countries can not only protect children more effectively but also strengthen the fight against polio.
