Health authorities in Malawi have declared an outbreak of wild poliovirus type 1 after a case was confirmed in a 3-year-old girl in the capital, Lilongwe. The 3-year-old girl experienced paralysis in November, and stool specimens were collected. Virus DNA has been identifies in the stool sample and the strain identified is linked to one circulating in Sindh Province in Pakistan. Polio remains endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Whether the girl had traveled to Pakistan or was infected in Malawi is very significant detail that would indicate whether or not transmission was actively occurring in Malawi.
As long as wild polio exists still, anywhere in the world all countries remain at risk of importation of the virus. Increasing immunization rate would largely help with preventing the outbreak.
--Wenqi
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