title: The Israeli public health response to wild poliovirus importation.
abstract: In 2013, a silent wild poliovirus type 1 importation and sustained transmission event occurred in southern Israel. With the aim of preventing clinical poliomyelitis and ensuring virus re-elimination, the public health response to the importation event included intensification of clinical and environmental surveillance activities, enhancement of vaccine coverage, and supplemental immunisation with a bivalent oral polio vaccine against wild poliovirus types 1 and 3. A national campaign launched in August, 2013, resulted in vaccination of 943,587 children younger than 10 years (79% of the eligible target population). Expanded environmental surveillance (roughly 80% population coverage) documented a gradual disappearance of wild poliovirus type 1 in the country from September, 2013, to April, 2014. No paralytic poliomyelitis case was detected. A prompt extensive and coordinated national public health response, implemented on the basis of evidence-based decision making, successfully contained this serious importation and sustained transmission event of wild poliovirus to Israel. On April 28, 2015, WHO officially declared Israel as a polio-free country.
authors.affiliation: Public Health Services, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Ehud
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kaliner
authors.affiliation: Public Health Services, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel; The Division of Epidemiology, Public Health Services, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel. Electronic address: eran.kopel@mail.huji.ac.il.
authors.forename: Eran
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kopel
authors.affiliation: Public Health Services, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel; The Division of Epidemiology, Public Health Services, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel; Braun School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Hebrew University Hadassah Faculty of Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Emilia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Anis
authors.affiliation: Central Virology Laboratory, Public Health Services, Ministry of Health, The Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel; Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Ella
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mendelson
authors.affiliation: Public Health Services, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel; Faculty for Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
authors.forename: Jacob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Moran-Gilad
authors.affiliation: Central Virology Laboratory, Public Health Services, Ministry of Health, The Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel; Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Lester M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Shulman
authors.affiliation: Public Health Services, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel; The Division of Epidemiology, Public Health Services, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Shepherd R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Singer
authors.affiliation: Central Virology Laboratory, Public Health Services, Ministry of Health, The Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
authors.forename: Yossi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Manor
authors.affiliation: Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; Pediatric Infectious Diseases Unit, Wolfson Medical Center, Holon, Israel.
authors.forename: Eli
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Somekh
authors.affiliation: Haifa District Health Office, Ministry of Health, Haifa, Israel; School of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Welfare Studies, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Shmuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rishpon
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leventhal
authors.affiliation: Public Health Services, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel; School of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Welfare Studies, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rubin
authors.affiliation: Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; Pediatric Infectious Diseases Unit, Wolfson Medical Center, Holon, Israel.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tasher
authors.affiliation: Public Health Services, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Mira
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Honovich
authors.affiliation: Public Health Services, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel; The Division of Epidemiology, Public Health Services, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Larisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Moerman
authors.affiliation: Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; Israel Center for Disease Control, Ministry of Health, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
authors.forename: Tamy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shohat
authors.affiliation: Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; Israel Center for Disease Control, Ministry of Health, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
authors.forename: Ravit
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bassal
authors.affiliation: Central Virology Laboratory, Public Health Services, Ministry of Health, The Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
authors.forename: Danit
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sofer
authors.affiliation: Faculty for Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel; South District Health Office, Ministry of Health, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gdalevich
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Boaz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lev
authors.affiliation: Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Ronni
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gamzu
authors.affiliation: Public Health Services, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel; Faculty for Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
authors.forename: Itamar
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Grotto
mesh_terms: D002353:Carrier State / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003140:Communicable Disease Control / Q000379:methods*; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D011051:Poliomyelitis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017955:Poliovirus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D011635:Public Health Administration; D014195:Travel