title: Acute flaccid paralysis surveillance in bosnia and herzegovina: Recent isolation of two sabin like type 2 poliovirus.
abstract: The WHO Regional Commission for the Certification of Poliomyelitis Eradication has recently indicated Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) as a high risk country for transmission, following importation, of wild poliovirus (WPV) or circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV). We analyzed data on Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) surveillance between 2007 to 2016, and the trend of polio immunization coverage in B&H. The majority of AFP cases was recorded in 2016 suggesting an enhancement of the AFP surveillance activities. However, the decline in the immunization coverage, around 74%, and the isolation of two Sabin-like poliovirus type 2 strains, one of them close to a VDPV, require a particular attention in the area. Although B&H has successfully maintained its polio-free status since 2002 several challenges need to be addressed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-0668-4514
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fontana
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Buttinelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fiore
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Institute for Public Health of Federation Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
authors.forename: Mirsada
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mulaomerovic
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Public Health Institute of the Republic of Srpska.
authors.forename: Jela
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aćimović
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Concetta
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Amato
authors.affiliation: National Center for the Control and Evaluation of Medicines, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Delogu
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rezza
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.|WHO Polio Regional Reference Laboratory, c/o Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stefanelli
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017522:Bosnia and Herzegovina / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011051:Poliomyelitis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D017955:Poliovirus / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D011055:Poliovirus Vaccine, Oral / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D011055:Poliovirus Vaccine, Oral
keywords: disease control, genetic variability; evolution; poliovirus; virus classification, vaccines/vaccine strains