New polio cases found due to pause in immunisation during COVID-19 time, says expert from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

“The finding of the poliovirus was also a reminder that if it exists anywhere in the world, it remains a threat everywhere,” said Dr. Ananda Sankar Bandyopadhyay, Deputy Director of Technology, Research and Analytics at the Foundation’s Polio Team.

A pause in the immunisation programme at the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic has led to the finding of fresh polio cases in countries such as the U.S., U.K. and Mozambique this year, according to an expert associated with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“The finding of the poliovirus was also a reminder that if it exists anywhere in the world, it remains a threat everywhere,” said Dr. Ananda Sankar Bandyopadhyay, Deputy Director of Technology, Research and Analytics at the Foundation’s Polio Team.

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The virus of polio was found in wastewater in a part of London and New York some months back. A case of wild poliovirus was detected in Mozambique in May and another in Malawi in February this year.

“Any polio detection is a result of low immunisation rates. When the COVID-19 pandemic first hit in 2020, polio campaigns were briefly paused for four months to protect communities and health workers from the coronavirus spread. This led to some increased spread of the poliovirus in countries," Mr. Bandyopadhyay told PTI in an exclusive interview.

“It was clear that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on immunisation rates globally,” said the epidemiologist who graduated with a gold medal from Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata in 2005.

“However, there were other challenges such as misinformation, vaccine hesitancy, and issues such as reaching every community with the polio vaccine,” he said.