[The movement of wild poliovirus in West Africa: the Malian case]

The objective of this study was to examine the evolution of the movement patterns and trends of the wild poliovirus in Mali through surveillance of acute flaccid paralysis. A retrospective descriptive study was conducted between 1 January 1998 and 31 December 2005 on 1,002 cases of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) investigated across the country. Reports made to the National Center for Immunization (CNI) of children under 15 years suffering from AFP were included as part of the epidemiological surveillance. The isolation of the poliovirus was done with stool examinations carried out at the Pasteur Institute in Abidjan. Among 1,002 cases of AFP, 156 stool samples were positive for enteroviruses including 59 cases of poliovirus (31 cases of polio vaccine and 28 cases of wild poliovirus), a frequency of 2.3%. Children 0 to 5 years of age were most affected by AFP (59.78%). Paralysis of the legs represented the most frequently affected zone (69.56%). The Mopti region was most heavily affected are with 11 cases of the 28 cases of wild poliovirus, of which boys were most affected (71.43%). Despite the efforts made so far in the fight against polio, wild poliovirus continues to circulate and spread in Mall and the West African sub-region. All countries in West Africa and on the African continent must reach a sufficient level of vaccination coverage in order to eradicate the wild strain like industrialized countries have.