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#Statement of the 41rst #meeting of the #Polio #IHR Emergency #Committee (#WHO, May 11 '25)



{Excerpts}

The 41st meeting of the Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) on the international spread of poliovirus was convened by the WHO Director-General on 6 March 2025 with committee members and advisers meeting via video conference with affected countries, supported by the WHO Secretariat.  

The Emergency Committee reviewed the data on wild poliovirus (WPV1) and circulating vaccine derived polioviruses (cVDPV) in the context of the global target of interruption and certification of WPV1 eradication by 2027 and interruption and certification of cVDPV2 elimination by 2029. 

Technical updates were received about the situation in the following countries: 

- Afghanistan, 

- Algeria, 

- Chad, 

- Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), 

- Djibouti, 

- Ethiopia, 

- Germany, 

- Pakistan, 

- Poland and 

- the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

(...)

Based on the current situation regarding WPV1 and cVDPVs, and the reports provided by affected countries, the Director-General accepted the Committee’s assessment, and on 09 April 2025 determined that the poliovirus situation continues to constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) with respect to WPV1 and cVDPV.  

The Director-General endorsed the Committee’s recommendations for countries meeting the definition for ‘States infected with WPV1, cVDPV1 or cVDPV3 with potential risk for international spread’, ‘States infected with cVDPV2 with potential risk for international spread’ and for ‘States previously infected by WPV1 or cVDPV within the last 24 months’ and extended the Temporary Recommendations under the IHR to reduce the risk of the international spread of poliovirus, effective, 9 April 2025.

Source: World Health Organization, https://www.who.int/news/item/10-04-2025-statement-of-the-forty-first-meeting-of-the-polio-ihr-emergency-committee

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