By SEPKOLIN WALNE
The National Department of Health has recorded 64 detections of circulating Vaccine-derived Poliovirus Type 2 (cVDPV2) through environmental surveillance, as health authorities intensify preparations for a targeted 2026 immunisation campaign.
The county’s executive manager for the polio response, Barry Ropa, said the detections were identified through sewage sampling in Morobe, National Capital District, Western Highlands, and Eastern Highlands.
Environmental surveillance, including the testing of sewage samples to detect the virus circulation, remains a key component of the outbreak response.
Officials confirmed five paralytic polio cases linked to cVDPV2 in relation to the environmental detections.
These cases were reported through the Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) surveillance, with two cases in Morobe, two in Enga and one in Central Province.
Three additional cases were classified as polio-compatible pending laboratory confirmation, including one in NCD and two in Morobe.
The last confirmed human case was detected on September 19th, 2025, in Enga province.
The most recent environmental sample indicating virus presence was recorded on October 13, 2025, in Morobe.
A new emergence of Vaccine-derived Poliovirus Type 2 was later detected from the environmental sample collected in NCD on 10 November 2025.
Health authorities conducted two supplementary immunisation activity (SIA) rounds in 2025.
Round one, from August to September, targeted 2.3 million children aged 0 to 10 years across mainland provinces, vaccinating 1.9 million children and achieving 83.2 percent coverage.
Round Two from October to December, again targeted 2.3 million children with novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2), reaching 1.1 million children (83.8 per cent coverage)