Nghe An strengthens measures to prevent and control the risk of polio returning.
Faced with the risk of polio re-entering the region, Nghe An province has been proactively tightening epidemiological surveillance, reviewing target groups, and stepping up vaccination efforts to protect children and the community.
Ministry of Health holds emergency meeting
On December 12th, the Ministry of Health held an urgent nationwide online conference on polio prevention and control. The Ministry of Health reported that the polio situation in Laos is currently complex. Specifically, in Savannakhet province, Laos recorded one case of acute flaccid paralysis in a child at the end of August 2025, and two healthy children who had contact with the child with acute flaccid paralysis tested positive for the genetically modified type 1 polio virus originating from the vaccine in early October 2025. On October 17th, 2025, Laos declared a nationwide polio epidemic.
The World Health Organization considers the outbreak in Laos a regional outbreak and recommends that countries sharing borders with Laos jointly implement response measures to combat the epidemic. The World Health Organization warns that the risk of polio entering Vietnam is very high and imminent.
In Vietnam, before the availability of polio vaccines, polio was one of the leading causes of death and left severe sequelae in children under 5 years old. Large-scale polio outbreaks occurred between 1957 and 1959. Thanks to the implementation of oral polio vaccination and the maintenance of high vaccination rates above 90% for many years, polio was gradually brought under control, with the last case recorded in Vietnam in 1997. Vietnam officially declared polio eradicated in 2000.
Thanks to achieving a polio vaccination rate of over 95% in the Expanded Immunization Program, Vietnam has maintained a record of no reported cases for 25 years. However, the risk of polio virus entering Vietnam is very high, given that more than half a million people cross the Vietnam-Laos border each year. This virus has the potential to infect unvaccinated children, those whose vaccinations have been delayed, or those who have missed doses.
At the conference, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong requested the health system to strengthen surveillance, maintain vaccine coverage rates, and improve testing capacity. Local authorities were instructed to screen incoming travelers under 15 years old from high-risk areas, review vaccination history in this age group, and organize supplementary polio vaccinations for those who are missing doses.
Poliomyelitis is an acute infectious disease caused by the polio virus, transmitted through the gastrointestinal tract (fecal-oral contact), and can spread rapidly. The disease attacks the central nervous system and can cause permanent paralysis, respiratory distress, and even death, primarily affecting children under 5 years old. Polio is preventable through active immunization with vaccination.polio.
Vietnam uses two types of vaccines.The polio vaccine is OPV (oral) to protect against virus types 1 and 3, and IPV (injectable) to protect against all three virus types: 1, 2, and 3. In the Expanded Immunization Program, the polio vaccination schedule includes: 3 doses of OPV at 2, 3, and 4 months of age, and 2 doses of IPV at 5 and 9 months.
Promote polio vaccination.
Information from the Nghe An Provincial Center for Disease Control: In recent years, Nghe An has been making efforts to effectively implement polio vaccination programs. During the 2020-2023 period, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the vaccination rate for oral OPV (first, second, and third doses) for children under 1 year old and the vaccination rate for IPV (first dose) for children under 1 year old in the Expanded Immunization Program did not meet the set targets (≥90%). The accumulation of unvaccinated individuals over the years has created a gap in community immunity.
After the Covid-19 pandemic subsided, from the end of 2022, the province intensified the oral polio vaccine (OPV) campaign for children aged 1-5 years to proactively prevent and control polio, achieving a vaccination rate of 98.6%; and implemented the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) campaign for children in 2021-2022 who had not received all doses, achieving a rate of 74.8%... Since then, polio vaccination has been intensified; the results of the polio prevention and control campaign have consistently achieved high rates; and the guidance and supervision of acute flaccid paralysis suspected of polio have been regularly implemented, meeting the set targets.
Currently, polio vaccination efforts in Nghe An still face several challenges: Vaccination coverage rates are uneven across regions; some mountainous communes maintain low vaccination rates. Missing individuals persist, particularly among migrant children, children in industrial zones, and those in remote areas. Coordination between health authorities and government agencies in some communes remains limited and lacks decisiveness in mobilizing target groups. Funding for communication and support in disadvantaged areas is insufficient to meet actual needs.
Dr. Chu Trong Trang, Director of the Nghe An Provincial Center for Disease Control, stated: Based on the assessment of polio risk throughout the province and the directives of the Ministry of Health, the Provincial Center for Disease Control will continue to direct health centers, health stations, and service vaccination centers to strengthen the implementation of polio vaccination for children within the eligible age range, ensuring that all required doses of polio vaccine are administered.
Instruct parents to bring their children to health centers for vaccinations according to schedule, ensuring children are fully protected and maintaining polio vaccination coverage in the area; conduct a review of target groups and propose the need for bOPV and IPV catch-up vaccines for children in the target age group; educate the community on general and personal hygiene, ensuring the safety of water sources and food...
