The small, west central African nation, Equatorial Guinea has reported it’s fourth Wild Poliovirus 1 (WPV-1) case of 2014. According to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) today, the case is from Ebebiyin district, Kie Ntem province, and had onset of paralysis on 3 April.
The four cases confirmed this year are linked to an ongoing outbreak in neighboring Cameroon, which has reported four cases in 2013 and three cases in 2014. The most recent NIDs in Equatorial Guinea took place on 28 May and the next rounds of activities are planned for mid-July and August.
Prior to this year, Equatorial Guinea did not see a polio case since 1999.
Pakistan, one of the three remaining polio endemic countries, reported four new cases in the past week including two cases from North Waziristan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas – FATA, and two cases from Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – KP. The most recent WPV1 case had onset of paralysis on 19 May from Bannu. The total number of WPV1 cases reported from Pakistan for 2014 is 75.
So far in 2014, there has been 94 polio cases reported from nine countries with Pakistan accounting for 80 percent of total cases. For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page
