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Review

Response to Vaccine-Derived Polioviruses Detected through Environmental Surveillance, Guatemala, 2019

Rodrigo Rodríguez et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2023 Aug.

Abstract

Guatemala implemented wastewater-based poliovirus surveillance in 2018, and three genetically unrelated vaccine-derived polioviruses (VDPVs) were detected in 2019. The Ministry of Health (MoH) response included event investigation through institutional and community retrospective case searches for acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) during 2018-2020 and a bivalent oral polio/measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination campaign in September 2019. This response was reviewed by an international expert team in July 2021. During the campaign, 93% of children 6 months <7 years of age received a polio-containing vaccine dose. No AFP cases were detected in the community search; institutional retrospective searches found 37% of unreported AFP cases in 2018‒2020. No additional VDPV was isolated from wastewater. No evidence of circulating VDPV was found; the 3 isolated VDPVs were classified as ambiguous VDPVs by the international team of experts. These detections highlight risk for poliomyelitis reemergence in countries with low polio vaccine coverage.

Keywords: Guatemala; environmental monitoring; polio; poliomyelitis; poliovirus; vaccination; viruses.

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Figures

Figure
Figure
Timeline of MoH VDPV detection response activities and OBRA evaluation, Guatemala, 2018–2022.1 Green represents environmental surveillance-related activities. Blue represents MoH response activities. Red represents supplementary immunization campaign. Yellow represents OBRA. MoH, Guatemala Ministry of Health; OBRA, Poliovirus Outbreak Response Assessment; VDPV, vaccine-derived polioviruses.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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