Two cases of polio have been reported in the Central African Republic, the World Health Organization said in a report on Tuesday, the latest setback for global efforts to eradicate the crippling disease.
The cases, reported to WHO on May 24, were caused by “vaccine-derived” polio rather than the wild type of the virus that still circulates in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The report said that there is a high risk of transmission of the virus as both cases were among internally displaced persons in an area with an estimated population of eight thousand.
Latest figures from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative show there have been 10 vaccine-derived polio cases this year: eight in Nigeria, one in Somalia and one in Democratic Republic of Congo. Pakistan and Afghanistan have reported 24 cases of the wild type.
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