World Health Organization
منظمة الصحة العالمية
Organisation mondiale de la Santé

Polio outbreak in Somalia officially over

Imprimer

Somalia_polio_free14 months since the most recent case of wild poliovirus in Somalia and the entire African continent, the polio outbreak in Somalia has been officially declared over.

23 October 2015 -- The 2013-2014 polio outbreak in Somalia, which affected nearly 200 people, most of them children, has officially been declared over, 14 months after the last polio case was identified.   Experts say this remarkable achievement is the result of the enormous efforts and commitment shown by governments, health workers, and parents to ensure that their children receive the vaccine.   The outbreak that was confirmed in May 2013 when the first case presented in a two-year-old girl from Mogadishu, quickly spread, affecting 194 people by the end of 2013. The rapid, coordinated response to the outbreak helped slow the spread of polio, with only five new cases reported in 2014. The last case was reported in Hobyo district, Mudug on 11 August 2014.   

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