Polio outbreak in Namibia

The last time polio was seen in Namibia was 1995.  This has changed in the last week, when an outbreak of polio was diagnosed.

We isolated poliovirus type 1 on 1 June from the patient in Aranos who fell ill on 6 May.  This has now been confirmed by the WHO reference lab in the region for polio, the NICD in Johannesburg, who typed it as wildtype poliovirus 1.  They also received specimens from later patients (current count = 34 patients, 7 deaths) once the outbreak had been identified as being an outbreak.  Here is our story [see item 1].

After a long fuss, much anxiety, and many phone calls back and forth around Southern Africa, the bad news has broken - Namibia has an outbreak of wildtype poliovirus type 1.

There are 3 types - 1, 2, and 3, funnily enough.  There are also 3 vaccine types, corresponding to these three - known as Sabin strains 1-3.  These are usually given to children in about 5 doses in the first few years of life.  South Africa has been polio-free since 1987, when we had our last case.

Currently poliovirus is classified as a BSL 2 pathogen, which may change when eradication efforts have managed to eliminate the virus completely.  The recent outbreak in Nigeria has damaged the progress of the WHO's elimination campaign, and the current outbreak in Namibia will cause Southern Africa to start worrying.  We're hoping it won't spread to South Africa.

In the South African press - Polio claims seven in Namibia

AllAfrica.com - Namibia: Mystery Disease Kills Three

In the Namibian press (Republikein) - Angs: Dit is polio

In ProMed - Poliomyelitis - worldwide [08]: Namibia, conf.

A note about the Namibian article - our lab is indeed accredited.  We have SANAS accreditation; the article refers to WHO accredited labs that are designated as specific reference centres for polio, measles, viral haemorrhagic fevers (like Ebola, Marburg, Crimean-Congo Fever) and other pathogens monitored by the WHO.  The article makes us sound like a backwater lab in the bush run out of a tent ... that is certainly not the case.