3 sept 2015

Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (oral polio vaccine) – Ukraine


In Ukraine, 2 cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (oral polio vaccine) type 1 (cVDPV1) have been confirmed, with dates of onset of paralysis on 30 June and 7 July 2015.

Both are from the Zakarpatskaya oblast, in south-western Ukraine, bordering Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland. One child was 4 years old and the other 10 months old at the time of onset of paralysis.

Vaccine-derived polioviruses (VDPVs) are strains of poliovirus that have genetically mutated from the strain contained in the oral polio vaccine and tend to spread and cause polio as the wild poliovirus.

Ukraine had been at particular risk of emergence of a cVDPV, due to inadequate vaccination coverage. In 2014, only 50% of children were fully immunized against polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases.