Via CIDRAP: News Scan for Aug 15, 2013: Israel polio risk; H5N1 emergency in Nepal; FDA's FSMA request denied; Dengue cases in Florida; Compounding pharmacy alert. Excerpt:
The World Health Organization (WHO) said today that, because of "increasing geographic extent of circulation over a prolonged period of time," the risk of international spread of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) from Israel is moderate to high.
The agency made this statement after WPV1 was detected in 67 sewage samples from 24 sampling sites in Israel from Feb 3 to Aug 4, up from 30 positive samples at 10 sites a month ago. The area of detected virus has also expanded, from initially only in the south to now in the central district as well.
In addition, WPV1 has been isolated in stool samples from 27 healthy children under 9 years old, but no cases of paralytic polio have been reported.
"In addition to routine acute flaccid paralysis, public health authorities have expanded the surveillance to all age groups and have increased enterovirus surveillance and are screening aseptic meningitis cases for polio," the WHO said in today's alert.
Officials began supplemental immunization in parts of southern Israel last week and are planning a nationwide campaign starting Aug 18, the agency added.
