India’s Health Ministry and the Meghalaya State government have been reluctant to disclose detailed information about a recent polio case involving a two-year-old boy in West Garo Hills, Meghalaya, found in August. Despite confirmation from the ICMR-NIV Mumbai unit, a WHO-accredited lab, that the case involved a type-1 vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV), neither the WHO nor the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) have made official announcements. WHO verified the polio strain as not circulating in the community, classifying it as VDPV type-1 rather than a circulating VDPV (cVDPV).
Dr. Roderico H. Ofrin, WHO Representative to India, shared case details with The Hindu, noting that assessments of the child’s immunological profile and community virus circulation were completed by mid-September. Despite having this information, WHO has not published updates on its website, a stark contrast to their timely announcements of similar cases globally, such as those in Israel and New York last year. The delay raises questions about WHO’s consistency, as they promptly reported past public health events like the Zika virus in Gujarat in 2017.
The ongoing silence, nearly 75 days after sharing results with WHO, highlights a disparity in the organization’s response times across different regions, prompting scrutiny over its decision-making processes in disseminating information on public health matters.
Original Story https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/why-is-who-cagey-about-publishing-meghalaya-polio-case-details/article68797671.ece
Category :
Tags:
