Distinguished Members and National EPI Managers of the WHO Polio Network,
Advisers from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
Colleagues from WHO Headquarters, the Regional Office for South-East Asia and Country Offices,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning and welcome to the Second Meeting on Vaccine Preventable Diseases Laboratory Networks in the Western Pacific Region. We sincerely appreciate that so many of you travelled so far to participate in this important meeting.
A decade after the Western Pacific Region became just the second WHO Region to be certified as poliomyelitis free, our Region continues to enjoy that status — despite several importations of wild poliovirus and the repeated emergence of vaccine-derived polioviruses. I am also pleased to note the substantial progress made towards eliminating measles and controlling hepatitis B by 2012. These twin goals were established by the Regional Committee for the Western Pacific.
This progress is the result of the continued commitment of Member States to the Expanded Programme on Immunization. This has led to dramatic reductions in the number of reported measles cases in most countries and areas in our Region. Recent commitments and policy changes in China and Japan will move the Western Pacific even closer to our goal of measles elimination.
And, as we note the 10th anniversary of Regional certification of poliomyelitis eradication, I would also like to take a moment to acknowledge the continued contributions made by the Polio Laboratory Network.
As this is the second meeting of the Region's laboratory networks, I'd like to note the efforts that have been made to achieve the recommendations made during the inaugural meeting. I understand that all 43 polio laboratories in the Western Pacific Region now have been fully accredited and the new WHO laboratory accreditation checklists have been fully introduced. In addition, a new technique has been introduced for poliovirus identification after hands-on training was organized in the Region by Australia's Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory in August 2009. I would like to thank the Reference Laboratory, as well as advisers from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for providing technical support to the training.
Certainly, challenges remain. In a few countries, the interruption of wild poliovirus transmission has proven to be much more challenging than expected, including the four remaining polio-endemic countries: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan. Wild poliovirus continues to find its way back to poliomyelitis-free countries. And repeated regional and transcontinental transmissions have occurred in several countries, originating particularly from India and Nigeria.
Given this continuing threat of wild poliovirus importation, rapid detection and further identification of polioviruses are of the utmost importance for the countries in the Western Pacific Region if they are to maintain their poliomyelitis-free status. In 2009, the Polio Laboratory Network in the Western Pacific Region analyzed over 10,600 stool samples from acute flaccid paralysis cases and other sources, including environmental samples.
With the threat of wild importation in mind, it is reassuring to know that during the first two days of your meeting, you will be discussing a range of important issues. I understand that these include the timely detection of polioviruses, sustaining laboratory quality assurance, ensuring biosafety, communications and the management of laboratories. You will also discuss expanding the scope of polio laboratory network activities.
This meeting has been organized in three parts to be conducted over five days that will discuss and review the past performance and future challenges for the laboratory networks for poliomyelitis and for measles and rubella, as well as the work of the newly established network for Japanese Encephalitis. In addition, you will also be discussing how recommendations from the first meeting in July 2008 can be further implemented.
I wish you a successful and fruitful meeting here in Manila, and look forward to hearing the outcome.
Thank you.