Environmental Surveillance Footprint in the African Region, 2024.

Abstract:

The gold standard for poliovirus detection in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) is the Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) surveillance. Environmental Surveillance (ES) complements AFP surveillance. Environmental Surveillance is the regular collection of sewage or wastewater that is contaminated with human faecal matter and testing the sample in the laboratory for the presence of poliovirus. The African region first initiated ES in 2011 in Nigeria and by December 2024, a total of 46 of the 47 countries in the region have initiated ES. The anticipated eradication of polio in the next few years brings to the fore the imperative of enhancing polio surveillance, and especially ES. It is therefore imperative for the region to ensure adequate ES footprint, especially in polio high-risk areas and sustain ES site sensitivity for timely detection of poliovirus transmission to enable prompt response. The regional polio laboratory network should be capacitated to accommodate ES expansion. In addition, ES has the potential to be upgraded to detect other pathogens of public health significance.