Report of the 24th Meeting of the European Regional Certification Commission for Poliomyelitis Eradication

The 24th Meeting of the European Regional Certification Commission (RCC) for Poliomyelitis Eradication was held on 26 and 27 January 2011 in St. Petersburg, the Russian Federation. The primary objective of the meeting was to review the epidemiological situation in countries that had been infected with imported wild poliovirus type 1(WPV1) (Tajikistan, the Russian Federation, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan) and neighboring countries (Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan). The RCC also assessed the outbreak response measures implemented to date to interrupt any further wild poliovirus (WPV) transmission in the WHO European Region. The RCC reviewed this evidence to determine the future status of the certification of the WHO European Region as polio-free. The current situation of sustaining a polio-free status was reviewed in six Member States: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.