In 2018, 26 (84%) of 31 high-priority countries met acute flaccid paralysis surveillance indicators nationally, although substantial subnational variation in surveillance performance remained.
Observational
Yes
While 84% of high-priority countries met national AFP surveillance indicators in 2018, substantial subnational variation highlights the need for continued surveillance strengthening to interrupt poliovirus circulation.
When the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) began in 1988, cases of poliomyelitis were reported from 125 countries. Since then, only Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan have experienced uninterrupted transmission of wild poliovirus (WPV). The primary means of detecting poliovirus is through surveillance for acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) among children aged <15 years with testing of stool specimens for WPV and vaccine-derived polioviruses (VDPVs) in World Health Organization (WHO)-accredited laboratories of the Global Polio Laboratory Network (GPLN) (1,2). AFP surveillance is supplemented by environmental surveillance for polioviruses in sewage at selected locations. Analysis of genomic sequences of isolated polioviruses enables assessment of transmission by time and place, potential gaps in surveillance, and emergence of VDPVs (3). This report presents 2017-2018 poliovirus surveillance data, focusing on 31 countries* identified as high-priority countries because of a "high risk of poliovirus transmission and limited capacity to adequately address those risks" (4). Some of these countries are located within WHO regions with endemic polio, and others are in regions that are polio-free. In 2018, 26 (84%) of the 31 countries met AFP surveillance indicators nationally; however, subnational variation in surveillance performance was substantial. Surveillance systems need continued strengthening through monitoring, supervision, and improvements in specimen collection and transport to provide sufficient evidence for interruption of poliovirus circulation.
Patel et al. (Thu,) conducted a observational in Acute flaccid paralysis (Poliomyelitis). Poliovirus surveillance was evaluated on Meeting national acute flaccid paralysis surveillance indicators (NPAFP rate ≥2 and ≥80% adequate stool specimens). In 2018, 26 (84%) of 31 high-priority countries met acute flaccid paralysis surveillance indicators nationally, although substantial subnational variation in surveillance performance remained.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: