Acute Flaccid Paralysis in Children

Abstract

In 1988 the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution calling for global eradication of poliomyelitis by the year 2000. This target has since been modified on a few occasions and the current target is 2005. As part of the World Health Organization·s (WH0) certification process for polio eradication in the Westem Pacific Region, a surveillance of all cases of acute flaccid paralysis ( AFP) was introduced. National health agencies were given a target of one case of AFP per I 00 000 population below 15 years. These cases had to be fully investigated and proven to be non-polio cases of AFP (Hussain et al., 2004).

There are many causes for AFP: lesions of the anterior hom cell including poliomyelitis, lesions of the spinal cord as in transverse myelitis, lesions of the peripheral nerve as in Guillain-Barre svndrome and toxic neuropathies as diphtheria. neuromuscular junction affection as in botulism and muscle disorders as mYositis and metabolic disorders as in hypokalemic periodic paralysis (:\Ian et al, 2000).

It is well known that AFP surveillance is the most reliable system m order to ascettain the interruption of the worldwide transmission of wild poliovirus. Several countries in the WHO European region and South East Asia have conducted an in ensive AFP surveillance "(Angelillo et al., 2001 ).

Poliomyelitis is a highly infectious viral disease that can lead to extensive paralysis or death. Between 70 and 90% of infected persons are children under the age of 3 years. Due to ongoing polio eradication