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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
medicine
Evaluation of AFP surveillance indicators in polio-free Ghana, 2009-2013
BMC Public Health, Volume 14, No. 1, Article 687, Year 2014
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Description
Background: Ghana recorded the last case of indigenous wild poliovirus in 1999 but suffered two more outbreaks in 2003 and 2008. Following the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, transmission was interrupted through high routine immunisation coverage with live-attenuated oral polio vaccine (OPV), effective acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance and supplementary immunisation activities (SIA). This article describes the results of a five-year surveillance of AFP in polio-free Ghana, evaluate the surveillance indicators and identify areas that need improvement. Methods. We investigated 1345 cases of AFP from children aged less than 15 years reported to the Disease Surveillance Department from January 2009 to December 2013. Data on demographic characteristics, vaccination history, clinical presentation and virological investigation on stool specimens collected during investigation were analysed. Results: Of the specimens analysed, 56% were from males and 76.3% were from children less than 5 years of age. Twenty-four percent of the children received up to 3 doses of OPV, 57% received at least 4 doses while the status of 19% was unknown. Core AFP surveillance indicators were partly met for non-polio AFP rate while the WHO target for stool adequacy and timeliness was exceeded over the period of study. All the cases were classified virologically, however no wild polio was found. Sixty-day follow-up was conducted for 56.3% of cases and 8.6% cases classified as compactible with polio. Conclusion: Both laboratory and epidemiological surveillance for AFP were efficient and many WHO targets were met. However, due to the risk of poliovirus importation prior to global eradication, longterm surveillance is required to provide a high degree of confidence in prevention of poliovirus infection in Ghana. Thus, efforts should be made to strengthen regional performance and to follow-up on all AFP cases in order to establish proper diagnoses for the causes of the AFP leading to proper care. © 2014 Odoom et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
Authors & Co-Authors
Odoom, John Kofi
Ghana, Accra
Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research
Ntim, Nana Afia Asante
Ghana, Accra
Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research
Sarkodie, Badu
Unknown Affiliation
Addo, J.
Unknown Affiliation
Minta-Asare, Keren
Ghana, Accra
Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research
Obodai, Evangeline
Ghana, Accra
Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research
Eshun, Miriam
Ghana, Accra
Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research
Ahove, Vincent V.
Switzerland, Geneva
Organisation Mondiale de la Santé
Diamenu, Stanley K.
Switzerland, Geneva
Organisation Mondiale de la Santé
Adjabeng, Michael Jeroen
Unknown Affiliation
Arthur-Quarm, Jacob
Ghana, Accra
Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research
Barnor, Jacob Samson
Ghana, Accra
Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research
Statistics
Citations: 38
Authors: 12
Affiliations: 2
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1186/1471-2458-14-687
e-ISSN:
14712458
Research Areas
Health System And Policy
Maternal And Child Health
Study Design
Cohort Study
Study Locations
Ghana