Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Retrospective Analysis of Six Years of Acute Flaccid Paralysis Surveillance and Polio Vaccine Coverage Reported by Italy, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Albania, North Macedonia, Malta, and Greece

2021; Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute; Volume: 10; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3390/vaccines10010044

2076-393X

Stefano Fontana, Gabriele Buttinelli, Stefano Fiore, Concetta Amato, Marco Pataracchia, Majlinda Kota, Jela Aćimović, Mia Blažević, Mirsada Mulaomerović, Lubomira Nikolaeva–Glomb, Αndreas Mentis, Androniki Voulgari‐Kokota, Luljeta Gashi, Pranvera Kacaniku‐Gunga, Christopher Barbara, Jackie Maistre Melillo, Jelena Protić, Svetlana Filipovic Vignjevic, Patrick O’Connor, Alessandra D’Alberto, Riccardo Orioli, Andrea Siddu, Eugene Saxentoff, Paola Stefanelli,

SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research

Here we analyzed six years of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance, from 2015 to 2020, of 10 countries linked to the WHO Regional Reference Laboratory, at the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Italy. The analysis also comprises the polio vaccine coverage available (2015-2019) and enterovirus (EV) identification and typing data. Centralized Information System for Infectious Diseases and Laboratory Data Management System databases were used to obtain data on AFP indicators and laboratory performance and countries' vaccine coverage from 2015 to 2019. EV isolation, identification, and typing were performed by each country according to WHO protocols. Overall, a general AFP underreporting was observed. Non-Polio Enterovirus (NPEV) typing showed a high heterogeneity: over the years, several genotypes of coxsackievirus and echovirus have been identified. The polio vaccine coverage, for the data available, differs among countries. This evaluation allows for the collection, for the first time, of data from the countries of the Balkan area regarding AFP surveillance and polio vaccine coverage. The need, for some countries, to enhance the surveillance systems and to promote the polio vaccine uptake, in order to maintain the polio-free status, is evident.