Epidemiological Profile of Acute Flaccid Paralysis in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 2021 to 2022
Keywords:
Poliomyelitis, Acute flaccid Paralysis, Epidemiology, Democratic Republic of CongoAbstract
Background and Objectives: The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has not reported any cases of wild poliovirus since 2017 and has since been declared free of wild poliovirus. However, there have been a few cases of poliomyelitis caused by vaccine-derived poliovirus. The objective of this study is to describe the epidemiological characteristics of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) cases reported in the DRC between 2021 and 2022, in order to suggest adaptations to current control strategies.
Methods: This is an observational, retrospective, descriptive, and cross-sectional study based on secondary surveillance data of AFP in the DRC from 2021 to 2022. An exhaustive sampling was conducted using records from the disease control database, focusing on AFP cases reported in all provinces of the DRC during the 2021-2022 period. Included in the analysis were all database entries confirmed as actual AFP case
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