Eleven-year surveillance of acute flaccid paralysis in southwestern Iran

Özet

The purpose of the study was to report the results of acute flaccid paralysis(AFP) surveillance in the southwestern Iran in the 11 years' period. This is aretrospective descriptive study based on WHO guidelines. The collected dataincludes all pediatric AFP cases reported between of January 2006 to December2016 by all health centers of Khuzestan province in Southwest of Iran.During an eleven-year period, 274 cases of AFP were reported in KhuzestanProvince. Among them, 56.9% were younger than five years of age, and 55.9%were male. None of these cases was confirmed as poliomyelitis. The annualincidence of non-polio AFP ranged from 1.46/100,000 to 3.11/100,000 (Mean:2.04 cases/100,000). The incidence rate of AFP in children under five yearsof age was significantly higher compared to older children (p=0.001), andthe most common cause of paralysis (74.5%) was Guillain-Barre syndrome.All performance indicators met the WHO-specified targets. The follow-up ofpatients with AFP is essential to the eradication of poliomyelitis.