Statement of the Seventeenth IHR Emergency Committee regarding the international spread of poliovirus

The seventeenth meeting of the emergency committee under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) regarding the international spread of poliovirus was convened by the director-general on 30 April 2018 at World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters with members, advisers and invited member states attending via teleconference.

The emergency committee reviewed the data on wild poliovirus (WPV1) and circulating vaccine derived polioviruses (cVDPVs).  The secretariat presented a report of progress for affected IHR states parties subject to temporary recommendations. The following IHR States provided an update on the current situation and the implementation of the WHO temporary recommendations since the committee last met on 7 February 2018: Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Pakistan, Kenya, Somalia and Syrian Arab Republic. 

The cpmmittee unanimously agreed that the risk of international spread of poliovirus remains a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), and recommended the extension of temporary recommendations for a further three months.

Source: WHO, 10 May 2018