Outbreak at a glance                       

On 8 July 2022, WHO was notified of a case of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) with acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) from Tamanrasset province, southern Algeria. This represents the first cVDPV2 case identified in the country. Local public health authorities are conducting a field investigation, and an active search for additional AFP cases; a reactive Immunization campaign is also planned.

Description of the outbreak 

On 8 July 2022, a case of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) in Algeria was notified to WHO through the Global Polio Laboratory Network (GPLN). The case is a child under two years old from Tamanrasset province, southern Algeria, with onset of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) on 11 April 2022. Stool specimens tested positive for cVDPV2 by the Pasteur Institute of Algeria and were confirmed by Pasteur Institute of Paris. Genomic sequencing analysis indicates that the isolated virus is genetically linked to a virus previously isolated in Kano, Nigeria. The child had not received any polio vaccine doses and has no history of travel outside Tamanrasset province.

This represents the first cVDPV2 case identified in Algeria, where, according to the 2021 WHO-UNICEF immunization coverage estimates, Pol3 (3rd dose of polio-containing vaccine) coverage was 91% and IPV1 (one dose of the inactivated polio vaccine) coverage was 94%.