Welcome to the DCEU newsletter. This newsletter provides updates on a weekly basis, tracking trends and misinformation for regional officers in five regions affected by polio: Eastern and Southern Africa (ESARO), Middle East and North Africa (MENARO), South Asia (ROSA), West and Central Africa (WCARO), and Europe and Central Asia (ECARO).
We will link to screenshots of misinformation in each of the sections below so you can see what is spreading. All identifying information in the images has been obscured. Repeating the falsehoods or passing along this misinformation to the public can reinforce the misinformation and increase its reach. Direct links to misinformation are often deleted or removed, sometimes by the bad actors themselves and at times because the misinformation violates the policies of social media companies.
On Thursday, GPEI released a statement about seven cases of cVDPV2 paralysis in Burundi and DR Congo that have been linked to nOPV2. These are the first reported polio cases to be associated with the vaccine. nOPV2 has been in use for two years and has been administered to about 600 million children in 28 countries. In its statement, GPEI noted that although the cases are tragic, the limited transmission of cVDPV2 linked to the vaccine indicates that it has a significantly lower risk than other OPVs. News of the nOPV2-linked polio cases has prompted skepticism about the vaccine’s safety and criticism of Bill Gates’s global polio eradication efforts. Posts criticizing the use of OPVs generally and nOPV2 specifically are trending globally.
Pakistan confirmed its first wild polio case of the year in a 3-year-old in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The news came in the midst of ongoing polio immunization campaigns in Islamabad and the Sindh and Punjab provinces targeting over 17 million children. The second phase of the campaign will launch next month and target over 4 million children in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces.
Eastern and Southern Africa (ESARO): Burundi reports first polio cases in decades as Sudan launches a national vaccine drive.
Middle East and North Africa (MENARO): Syria launches a national vaccine drive; an article traces the challenges of testing polio samples in Yemen.
South Asia (ROSA): Pakistan and Afghanistan launch national polio vaccine drives.
West and Central Africa (WCARO): Ghana receives its first batch of vaccines after shortages; DR Congo detects nOPV2-linked poliovirus.
Europe and Central Asia (ECARO): Ukraine and Israel urge parents to vaccinate their children against polio.
Eastern and Southern Africa (ESARO)
News and updates
A 4-year-old in western Burundi was diagnosed with polio paralysis. The virus was also detected in two children who were in contact with the young boy. The cases have been linked to nOPV2 vaccines, making them the first cases of cVDPV2 associated with the vaccine in the two years since its rollout. Five positive environmental samples were also detected in the country’s wastewater. This is the first time poliovirus has been detected in Burundi in over 30 years.
On Saturday, Sudan launched a national polio immunization campaign targeting 8.9 million children under the age of 5. The four-day campaign included vitamin A supplementation.
Emerging misinformation
South Africa
Video claims that polio vaccines cause cancer A video circulating online claims that polio vaccines contain a cancer-causing virus called SV40.
🟢 Risk assessment: Low risk
Between 1955 and 1961, some polio vaccine batches were contaminated with SV40, which can cause cancer in rodents. Consider countering misinformation by explaining that there is no evidence that SV40 causes cancer in humans, and no polio vaccine administered since 1963 has contained SV40 contamination. Prebunking messaging may continue to emphasize key talking points: The polio vaccine is safe and the only way to eradicate polio.
Sudan
Posts reveal misconceptions about polio vaccines Responses to posts about Sudan’s national polio immunization campaign reveal a distrust of polio workers, fears about the safety and effectiveness of polio vaccines (which is mistranslated by the social media platform to “paralysis”), and false claims that vaccines have killed thousands of children in Blue Nile.
🟡 Risk assessment: Medium risk
Emphasizing that polio outbreaks most often occur in places with low immunization rates is recommended. Using trusted messengers to explain that the best way to prevent any type of polio outbreak is to vaccinate children is also recommended. Materials can also emphasize that polio will not be eliminated anywhere until it is eliminated everywhere and that vaccinating children worldwide is crucial to this effort.
Middle East and North Africa (MENARO)
News and updates
Last week, Syria launched a five-day national immunization campaign targeting 575,000 children who have missed routine vaccines in the last five years. The campaign included dozens of mobile health teams and over 9,000 workers.
An article describes how polio surveillance works in Yemen, a country lacking a polio lab. Stool samples from children believed to have polio must be transported from Yemen to neighboring Oman, an arduous journey through mountains, difficult roads, and conflict zones that can take up to 10 days.
Emerging misinformation
Yemen
Post claims previous generations were healthier without vaccines In response to a UNICEF Yemen post about the importance of vaccination in building herd immunity, one user claims that previous generations didn’t need vaccines and were stronger and healthier because they were unvaccinated.
🟡 Risk assessment: Medium risk
Debunking messaging may explain that before vaccines were widely available, millions of children died of vaccine-preventable diseases each year. Vaccines are responsible for eliminating wild polio in countries around the world, including Yemen. The polio vaccine and other routine vaccines have protected billions of children and multiple generations.
South Asia (ROSA)
News and updates
As Pakistan reports its first wild polio case this year, the country launched a two-phase national immunization campaign targeting over 21.5 million children. Pakistan’s health minister urged parents to vaccinate all children under age 5.
The Taliban health ministry launched a national polio vaccination drive targeting 9 million children. The campaign faces many barriers, including lingering vaccine hesitancy due to misinformation previously promoted by the Taliban and increased restrictions on female polio workers, who have been instrumental to the success of polio eradication efforts.
Emerging misinformation
Afghanistan
Image claims polio vaccines have killed “many children” An image shared on social media baselessly claims polio vaccines killed or injured 10 children in Zabul.
🟢 Risk assessment: Low risk
The low engagement on this post decreases its risk. Messaging may continue to emphasize key talking points: The polio vaccine is safe and the only way to eradicate polio.
Afghanistan
Post claims polio vaccines make children “weak” and “restless” A social media post warns parents to protect their children from the polio vaccine because it will make them weak, impair their memory, and cause other diseases.
🟡 Risk assessment: Medium risk
Continuing to emphasize that the polio vaccine is extremely safe and rigorously tested is recommended, as is highlighting that children are at great risk of death and disability from polio, not from immunization.
West and Central Africa (WCARO)
News and updates
After months of shortages and delays, the Ghana Health Service finally received its first batch of vaccines and began administering routine vaccinations early last week. However, the Paediatric Society of Ghana is calling for more vaccines, stating that the current stock falls short of what is needed.
Six children in DR Congo have been diagnosed with cVDPV2 paralysis associated with nOPV2. Although the cases were reported last week, all six samples were collected last year. DR Congo reported more than 430 cVDPV cases in 2022, more than any other country by a considerable margin.
Emerging misinformation
Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon
Thread blames vaccines for polio outbreaks A trending social media thread claims that the only polio epidemics are due to human manipulation through OPV use. The thread goes on to blame global health organizations for using OPV instead of IPV.
🔴 Risk assessment: High risk
The widespread nature of these claims increases their risk. Consider countering this misinformation by explaining that wild polio has decreased by more than 99 percent in the last 35 years. This decrease was only possible because of OPV, which eliminated polio in dozens of countries worldwide.
Debunking messaging may emphasize that OPV is still used in places where poliovirus is circulating because it is the only vaccine that can prevent polio transmission and is the best way to contain active polio outbreaks. Vaccinated people are not at risk from vaccine-derived polio. Increasing polio vaccination rates ensures that children and communities are protected against all types of polio.
Europe and Central Asia (ECARO)
News and updates
The Ukraine Ministry of Health is urging parents to keep their children up to date on routine vaccines and get catch-up vaccines for children who missed scheduled doses.
Despite ambitious mass immunization campaigns in Israel, around 175,000 children in the country remain unvaccinated. The health ministry has renewed calls for all children to be vaccinated following the detection of polio in four children in Safed earlier this month.
Emerging misinformation
Turkey
Post claims that aluminum in food and vaccines causes polio A trending post claims that the aluminum additive in food, medicine, and vaccines accumulates in brain tissue, causing polio and other neurological issues.
🟡 Risk assessment: Medium risk
The myth that polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases are caused by environmental or other non-viral factors has been used to argue against the use of vaccines for decades. Prebunking messaging may explain that polio is caused by poliovirus, not by chemical additives or exposure to environmental toxins. In addition, messaging may emphasize that all countries that have eradicated polio have done so using the polio vaccine.
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