title: Measuring polio immunity to plan immunization activities.
abstract: The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is closer than ever to achieving a polio-free world. Immunization activities must still be carried out in non-endemic countries to maintain population immunity at levels which will stop poliovirus from spreading if it is re-introduced from still-infected areas. In areas where there is no active transmission of poliovirus, programs must rely on surrogate indicators of population immunity to determine the appropriate immunization activities, typically caregiver-reported vaccination history obtained from non-polio acute flaccid paralysis patients identified through polio surveillance. We used regression models to examine the relationship between polio vaccination campaigns and caregiver-reported polio vaccination history. We find that in many countries, vaccination campaigns have a surprisingly weak impact on these commonly used indicators. We conclude that alternative criteria and data, such as routine immunization indicators from vaccination records or household surveys, should be considered for planning polio vaccination campaigns, and that validation of such surrogate indicators is necessary if they are to be used as the basis for program planning and risk assessment. We recommend that the GPEI and similar organizations consider or continue devoting additional resources to rigorously study population immunity and campaign effectiveness in at-risk countries.
authors: The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 500th 5th Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109, USA. Electronic address: Arend.voorman@gatesfoundation.org.
authors: Arend
authors: A
authors: Voorman
authors: The Institute for Disease Modeling, 3150 139th Ave SE, Bellevue, WA 98005, USA. Electronic address: hlyons@intven.com.
authors: Hil M
authors: HM
authors: Lyons
mesh_terms: D060740:Disease Eradication / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration; D014943:Global Health / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006295:Health Resources; D006801:Humans; D017589:Immunization Programs; D015233:Models, Statistical; D011051:Poliomyelitis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011055:Poliovirus Vaccine, Oral / Q000276:immunology; D011159:Population Surveillance; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014611:Vaccination; D014944:World Health Organization
chemical_list: D011055:Poliovirus Vaccine, Oral
keywords: Data quality; Immunity; Polio; Surrogate marker; Vaccination