2006
6 April 2006
The National Polio Certification Committee under the mandate of the national
Department of Health (NDoH), and in partnership with the National Institute for
Communicable Diseases (NICD) organised the Laboratory Stakeholders Conference
on Monday, 10 April 2006, at the National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS)
Auditorium in Johannesburg. Participants attending this conference will come
from all over the country, United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef), WHO/SA and
WHO/Afro. About 60 people are expected attend this conference.
The aim of the conference is to sensitise all stakeholders on the laboratory
containment exercise for wild poliovirus infectious and potentially infectious
material and have them comply with the requirements set out for this process.
Conducting the Laboratory Containment exercise is part of the Polio Free
Certification requirement.
In 1989 the World Health Assembly committed the World Health Organisation
(WHO) and the member states to global polio eradication by 2000. Due to some
setbacks with a number of countries experiencing resurgence of wild poliovirus
cases, this goal was revised. The current goal is to declare the world free of
polio by the end of 2008.
The world will be declared polio free when the WHO Global Certification
Commission for the Eradication of wild poliovirus is satisfied that all regions
have documented the absence of wild poliovirus transmission for at least three
consecutive years and that laboratories identified with wild poliovirus
material have implemented appropriate containment measures. Safe handling and
ultimately appropriate laboratory containment of wild poliovirus infectious and
potentially infectious material is crucial.
South Africa fully adopted the global polio eradication goal and implemented
the WHO recommended strategies for polio eradication including: conducting mass
immunisation campaigns, conducting surveillance for Acute Flaccid Paralysis
(AFP) - to ensure that there are no polio cases and addressing routine
immunisation coverage. South Africa is now at a stage of preparing a document
for Polio Free Certification, which will be presented to the African Region
Certification Commission. The African Region Certification Commission will
assess the country document to see if indeed South Africa can be declared to be
free of wild poliovirus. The NDoH in compliance with the WHO's campaign to
eradicate poliovirus, globally, has appointed the National Certification
Committee (NCC), National Task Force (NTF) and National Polio Expert Committee
(NPEC), to oversee the eradication and certification of poliovirus in South
Africa.
The primary responsibility of the NTF is to co-ordinate laboratory
containment of poliovirus materials, i.e. samples of stools, water, tissue,
agricultural material, etc, that contain wild poliovirus. In order to greatly
reduce the risk of polivirus being transmitted from laboratories to
communities, all infectious or potentially infectious material of poliovirus is
contained as required by the Global Certification commission for Polio
Eradication.
The containment activities will cover all the national biomedical/medical
laboratories administered by the NHLS, including the laboratories previously
under South African Institute of Medical Research (SAIMR), private health
laboratories, laboratories under National Defence Force and other private labs
e.g. of vaccine producers and researchers.
The full participation and involvement of all stakeholders is requested to
make an impact and contribution towards the process of polio eradication in
South Africa. It is hoped that this conference will help facilitate the control
of laboratories as a source of wild poliovirus contamination and sensitise
stakeholders to contribute meaningfully to the Polio Free Certification
Documentation for the country.
Contact: Solly Mabotha
Tell: (012) 312 0609
Issued by: Department of Health
6 April 2006
