title: Progress toward poliomyelitis eradication in the Eastern Mediterranean Region of the World Health Organization.
abstract: The Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) of the World Health Organization has made substantial progress toward eradicating poliomyelitis. From 1988 to 1995, the number of confirmed cases of polio decreased 66%, from 2342 to 789. National immunization days were conducted in 18 (78%) of the 23 countries in 1995, representing 88% of the regional population. By 1995, 20 countries (87%) in the EMR had established systems for reporting acute flaccid paralysis (AFP), 20 (87%) were investigating AFP or polio cases epidemiologically, 18 (78%) had initiated follow-up at 60 days to confirm or discard suspected polio cases, 7 (30%) had achieved nonpolio AFP rates of > or = 1.0/100,000 children <15 years of age (a measure of the sensitivity of surveillance), and 16 (70%) had made laboratory investigations of polio cases for 1281 (74%) of the 1715 AFP cases reported in the EMR. Despite significant progress, the success of the polio eradication initiative in the EMR will depend on finding solutions to a number of technical, managerial, political, and financial challenges.
authors.affiliation: Integrated Disease Control Division, Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office, World Health Organization, Alexandria, Egypt.
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Wahdan
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Aslanian
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Reichler
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Gaafar
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D019083:Mediterranean Region / Q000453:epidemiology; D011051:Poliomyelitis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D011055:Poliovirus Vaccine, Oral; D011159:Population Surveillance; D014944:World Health Organization
chemical_list: D011055:Poliovirus Vaccine, Oral