Vaccine Coverage Summarized.(Brief Article)

2001 JUL 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) --

An article in the June 15, 2001, edition of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Report summarizes the routine polio vaccination coverage, surveillance for acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) during 1999 and 2000, and the synchronization of national immunization days (NIDs) against polio during 2000 and early 2001 in 16 countries in west and central Africa.

In 1988, the World Health Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) resolved to eradicate poliomyelitis by 2000. Reported polio cases have decreased on all continents. In 2000, poliovirus was isolated from 24 countries, 13 in the African Region of WHO (AFR).

During 1999, routine vaccination coverage with three doses of oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV3) among infants aged one year was approximately 48% in the 16 countries (range: 12%-90%). In comparison, reported OPV3 coverage in AFR was approximately 55% in 1999 and has remained relatively stable since 1990.

During 2000, AFP surveillance improved in all countries except Chad and Cote d' Ivoire. The number of confirmed polio cases in the West Africa Region, Cameroon, and Chad decreased from 1309 in 1999 to 879 in 2000. The number of polio cases confirmed by wild virus isolation decreased from 186 in 1999 to 41 in 2000. With the exception of Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, and Niger, the proportion of AFP cases with adequate specimens substantially increased in all countries from 26%-74% in 1999 to 37%-84% in 2000.

Most of the countries in west and central Africa have conducted annual NIDs since 1996. Despite the progress achieved by these countries, wild poliovirus was still circulating during 2000. To maximize the number of susceptible children reached during NIDs, 14 contiguous countries in the West Africa Region and Cameroon and Chad conducted synchronized NIDs against polio during October and November 2000 and January 2001. The WHO intercountry program (ICP) office in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, coordinated this effort.

Coordinated cross-border activities were implemented by 14 of the 16 countries. Planning meetings for these activities were conducted in four border towns corresponding to the following country cross-border activities: 1) Senegal-Gambia-Guinea-Bissau; 2) Cote d'Ivoire-Mali-Burkina Faso; 3) Burkina Faso-Ghana-Togo; and 4) Benin-Niger-Nigeria. Inclusion of high-risk and special populations living in border areas were considered, and special resources were allocated to the border districts for the implementation of this activity. Approximately 300,000 health personnel were trained and mobilized for implementation of the synchronized NIDs, and approximately 180 million doses of OPV were distributed to participating countries.