By NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews

The Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) in Sudan has confirmed 21 confirmed cases of vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV2) in 10 states.

Poliovirus Image/CDC

The first case was reported in South Darfur in March.

The cases are all linked to the cVDPV2 currently circulating in Chad. The initial investigation of the two first cases indicated these cases were linked to cVDPV2s from the CHA-NDJ-1 emergence group, which was first detected in October 2019 and is currently circulating in Chad and Cameroon, according to the World Health Organization.

The government is planning two rounds of national vaccination campaigns targeting 8.6 million children under five years of age to ensure they are protected against polio. The first round will start on 4 October and the second round will take place during the first week of November.

Sudan’s last reported wild poliovirus case was in March 2009 and the country was announced polio-free in 2015 by WHO.

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