Victoria, Seychelles, 17 April 2016 - will remain an important date in the history of immunisation in Seychelles. This is because April 17th was Seychelles national ‘Switch’ date, where the country ceased the use of all trivalent oral polio vaccine (tOPV) and started using bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV). Following Rwanda, Seychelles became the second country in Africa to ‘switch’.

Last year, the World Health Assembly (WHA) urged all countries currently using oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) to withdraw the type 2 component of oral poliovirus vaccine by replacing the trivalent oral poliovirus vaccine (tOPV) with the bivalent oral poliovirus vaccine (bOPV).  The Global Commission for Certification of Poliovirus Eradication also declared in September 2015 that wild poliovirus type 2 had been eradicated globally, further affirming the timeliness of the plan to make the switch.

WHO guidelines requires that the removal of OPVs be done in a phased manner to minimize the risk of new polio cases. The first phase of OPV removal is a switch from the current tOPV, containing antigens for poliovirus types 1, 2, and 3, to bOPV, containing only types 1 and 3. The use of tOPV over the years has led to the eradication of wild poliovirus type 2, with the last detected case occurring in 1999.  Prior to the switch, manufacturers had ceased production of tOPV, therefore no tOPV will be available on the global market after the switch. 

The switch is also a globally coordinated process, where all countries have no choice but to stop the use of tOPV. This is because any use of tOPV after April 2016 could jeopardize polio eradication by generating circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses from the type 2 component of the vaccine.

In preparation for the switch which took place on April 17th for Seychelles, WHO has provided training and guidance to all countries in the African Region to effectively implement this change, including final disposal of remaining stocks of tOPV following the switch. Other countries have until the 1st May to ‘switch’.

“I encourage countries in the Region to successfully implement this switch which is a significant milestone in regional and global polio eradication efforts,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, “WHO will continue to collaborate with immunization partners and stakeholders to provide the necessary support.”

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For more information, please contact:

Doreen Hotive (Mrs), NPO/HIP Officer, Tel: (248) 4224795, Fax: (248) 225754, Email:  hotived [at] who.int (hotived[at]who[dot]int)