On the morning of December 12th, the Ministry of Health held an urgent nationwide online conference on polio prevention and control. The conference connected online with participants from 32 provinces and cities.
On October 7th, Laos officially declared a polio outbreak after detecting the genetically modified polio virus type 1 (cVDPV1). The outbreak in Laos began with the first case of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) on August 26th of this year, with the onset of paralysis on June 27th.
The index case is a 3-year-old boy residing in Xonabouly, Savannakhet province, Laos. This location is only about 150km from Quang Tri province (Vietnam). The virus strain was identified as VDPV1 (genetically modified polio virus derived from vaccine type 1) with 31 nucleotide differences compared to the Sabin 1 strain.
Subsequently, cVDPV1 was detected in stool samples from 2 out of 28 other healthy children in a village approximately 2km from the index village on September 3rd. Based on laboratory evidence, Laos confirmed a cVDPV outbreak.
The World Health Organization (WHO) considers the outbreak in Laos a regional outbreak and recommends that countries sharing borders with Laos jointly implement response measures to combat the epidemic. WHO also warns that the risk of polio entering Vietnam is very high and imminent.
Speaking at the conference, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong emphasized the risk of polio virus entering Vietnam and the possibility of the disease returning many years after the country was recognized by the WHO as having eradicated polio.
According to WHO representatives, Vietnam faces a very high risk of polio re-entry due to the significant movement and interaction between the two countries for work, travel, and visiting relatives. In particular, polio vaccination rates have not met targets in recent years. In 2024, the rate of oral polio vaccine (bOPV) only reached 73% and the rate of oral polio vaccine (IPV2) reached 86%. A large number of children under 15 years old have not received the oral or oral polio vaccine, posing a risk of re-entry and outbreaks.
To prevent the re-emergence and re-emergence of polio in Vietnam, the Deputy Minister of Health requested that localities urgently review vaccination history and organize catch-up/supplementary polio vaccination (IPV, bOPV) for cases that have not received oral/injectable polio vaccine or have not received the full dose, especially in high-risk areas. Regular vaccination should be strengthened to ensure safety and effectiveness.
Source: https://cand.com.vn/y-te/lao-cong-bo-dich-bai-liet-viet-nam-khan-cap-cac-bien-phap-phong-chong-i790877/
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