Rapid assessment of an acute flaccid paralysis surveillance system in Jamaica

ABSTRACT

The sensitivity of hospital-active-surveillance (HAS) system for acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) was reviewed at six acute-care hospitals and one rehabilitation facility in Jamaica for the years 1991, 1992 and 1993. HAS evaluated cases at a rate of 0.70, 0.35, and 0.35 AFP cases per 100,000 population under 15-years-of-age for the years 1991, 1992 and 1993, respectively. Analysis of admission registers and discharge diagnoses determined six additional cases meeting the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) case definition of AFP in 1991, and one additional case in 1993. Thus, the prevalence of AFP was 1.41, 0.35 and 0.47 for the three years under review. In only one year (1991) did the prevalence of AFP exceed 1.0, the rate considered by PAHO norm was derived from large continental countries in South America. This rate may not apply to small island nations (AU)